Jason Day and Marc Leishman are primed to finally crush the Australian curse at Torrey Pines.
A year ago, both players held the lead at stages on the final day of the US PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open and looked destined to be Australia's first winner on the iconic coastal layout near San Diego that hosted the 2008 US Open and will again in 2021.
But ultimately, both stumbled into a tie for second, one shot off winner Scott Stallings, taking the runner-up tally for the country to seven with Leishman holding two of those (2010), joining Bruce Crampton (1973), Steve Elkington (1989), Nathan Green (2006) and Michael Sim (2010) as near misses.
Day was left to rue a bogey from the fairway on the 17th hole when his approach buried in a bunker and his par-save putt lipped out.
"It was a couple of poor decisions but I feel like the experience helped and, if I had the same situation again, I'd like to think it would be different," Day said.
"I have had great prep coming in this year, some of the best in my career. It has kind of felt like a major."
While no Australian has won a big event on the course, Day claimed the junior world championships on the layout in 2004 as a 16-year-old, memories he still pulls from.
But it is the toughness of the South Course, in particular, he revels in.
"It is just a good tough tournament on a US Open course and it is one of those events that really tests every part of your game," Day said.
"Instead of running away and being scared of the tough courses, you have to run to them. You have to take it head on and face your fears and that is what I'll be trying to do."
For Leishman, the final round a year ago was cruelled by poor putting. He led the field in greens in regulation but was 66th of the 73 players who made it to Sunday on the greens, leaving him short of glory.
"It almost feels like my home course," the Victorian said.
"You obviously have to hole the putts, that's a big thing around here and the difference between finishing first and second on a Sunday.
"I also think the North Course is a key round for me in this tournament. I love the South Course and feel comfortable there so it is just a matter of making a score on the north."
Players alternate on the north and south courses in the opening two rounds before the final two rounds revert to the tougher South Course.
The pair head a nine-strong Australian tilt with Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Aaron Baddeley, Jarrod Lyle, Cameron Percy, John Senden and Cameron Smith, which could swell to 10 as Greg Chalmers sits in the first alternate spot.
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