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Cameron Smith admits his loss to superstar Jordan Spieth in a sudden-death playoff at the 2016 Australian Open still haunts him.

But it will be the US PGA Tour star's inspiration to lift the coveted Stonehaven Cup this week after a series of crushing close calls.

Preparing up for the Open at The Lakes starting on Thursday, Queenslander Smith recalled his feelings after Spieth birdied the first playoff hole at Royal Sydney to win his second Open crown.

"Yeah, the one at Royal Sydney was pretty heartbreaking to miss," Smith said.

"It's been basically on my mind ever since."

The 25-year-old Smith also finished fourth at last year's Open behind winner Cameron Davis, one week before winning the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast.

"We've had a pretty good crack (at the Open) last year," Smith said.

"My preparation leading up to the (Open) the past couple years probably hasn't been the greatest.

"But my focus the last couple weeks has been thinking about lifting the (trophy).

"It's been a good preparation (at his Florida base of TPC Sawgrass)."

Smith, whose solid 2018 season on the PGA Tour included a tie for fifth at the Masters in April, yearns to etch his name on the Stonehaven Cup alongside former champions Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Greg Norman.

"Yeah, it would be pretty cool," he said.

"I rank this tournament and every tournament in Australia pretty highly; I always love coming home to (play in) Australia."

At world No.33, Smith is the highest-ranked Australian in the field.

Try telling Cameron Smith and Matt Kuchar the Australian Open has lost its lustre.

Smith, Kuchar and fellow US PGA Tour stalwarts Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker shape as the chief contenders this year in the absence of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Adam Scott, among other former world No.1s like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy who have played over the past decade.

But while officials have come under fire for failing to attract golf's biggest names, those in Sydney for the 104th Open are treating this week's event like a mini-major.

"I really want to get this one," said top local hope Smith ahead of Thursday's opening round.

"I rate this tournament, every tournament in Australia, pretty highly in my books."

Still hurting from a "heartbreaking" play-off loss to Spieth in 2016 at Royal Sydney and joint fourth last year at The Australian, Smith has arrived at The Lakes with a new approach in his quest to add the Stonehaven Cup to his 2017 Australian PGA Championship title.

"That's really been the determination behind the hard work," he said.

'Traditionally I slacken off after those (end-of-year) Asian events and then come down here fresh after a couple of weeks off.

"But I've been working hard pretty hard the last couple of weeks back in Jacksonville."

Kuchar, the Open's highest-ranked player and fresh off his first PGA Tour win in four years in Mexico on Sunday, probably wouldn't have made the gruelling trek if he didn't have the chance to join Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Greg Norman and the like on the Stonehaven Cup.

"Having some history to an event, having guys like that that have won this event, adds to the allure of coming and playing and trying to put your name on that list of champions," Kuchar said.

"If the list included a bunch of guys none of us (had) ever heard of, it wouldn't have nearly the draw.

"But because it is a national Open, because golf's such a big part of kind of sport and people's lives in Australia, you've seen some great names come and play and perform well.

"That helps add to the excitement of being down here and trying to add my name to that list."

But the Open is by no means any four-way race between Smith, Kuchar, 2007 runner-up Snedeker and Bradley - the 2011 US PGA champion and only major winner in the 144-man field.

Golf Australia boss Stephen Pitt has been predicting a "handing of the baton" as a wave of exciting youngsters led by defending champion Cameron Davis, Brett Coletta, Anthony Quayle, pro debutant Zach Murray and Jake McLeod look to emerge from the shadows of Day, Scott and Marc Leishman.

"There's a lot of guys out here that can win this week, a lot of Aussies," Smith said.

"They're coming off three or four weeks of tournament golf as well, so everyone's pumped and ready to go."

Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar won last week, each ending four-plus years without winning on their home circuit. They also won without their regular caddies.

Kuchar used a local caddie at Mayakoba because he entered at the last minute and his regular looper, John Wood, had a previous engagement. Westwood used his girlfriend, Helen Storey, who previously caddied for him in Denmark.

Wood is back to work with Kuchar this week at the Australian Open. Billy Foster's 10-year run with Westwood is done.

"Mine and Billy's working relationship had got to a point where neither of us were gaining anything from it and we weren't doing each other any good," Westwood said Tuesday at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

"I sat him down and said, 'This is no good, I'm playing better when you're not there than when you are there, so something's obviously not working.' He said to me, 'Well, I can't caddie for you how I want to caddie for you."'

Westwood said he has reached a stage in his career where he doesn't need as much from his caddie, and he felt Foster wasn't happy just carrying the bag.

"It just was one of those things that had to come to an end," Westwood said. "We've obviously had a great time the last 10 years and been very successful, but people change and the way you work and look at things."

Foster is working with Matt Fitzpatrick in Dubai. Westwood is using Glen Murray, who was on the bag with Sergio Garcia when the Spaniard won the Masters.

Brandt Snedeker has returned for his first Australian Open tilt in more than a decade with fond memories and some unfinished business.

"Yeah, Craig Parry won in 2007. I remember I lost by a shot. Had to call a penalty on myself on Sunday and it cost me the tournament," Snedeker recalls of his near miss at The Australian Golf Club 11 years ago.

It was on the 14th hole that a ball moved on Snedeker when he attempted to remove some small sticks around it.

"It was a no-brainer penalty," he said.

"But it was cool to see Craig win. Craig's never won the Aussie Open before.

"I know he was in his 40s at that point, I can't remember how old he was, but it was pretty cool to see him; the emotion to make that par on 18 to win and what a big deal that was for him.

"So it was really cool to be a part of that and have a chance to win an Australian Open."

A nine-times winner on the US PGA Tour and 2012 FedEx Cup champion, Snedeker jumped at the chance to vie for the Stonehaven Cup again.

"I realise the importance of this tournament on the grand scale with the history in the game of golf," he said.

"This is one of those premier championships, so I'm excited to be back here trying to put my name on the trophy."

Also boasting nine top-10 finishes at the majors, including thirds at the Masters and British Open, Snedeker is predicting a true test of golf around a potentially windswept Lakes layout.

"I played the back nine (on Tuesday), so it was more the water placement side of the golf course," he said of his first taste of the course.

"Really cool undulations, and the green complexes here are very difficult. It's one of those places where you have to put the ball in the right spots on the greens to give yourself chances.

"If the wind blows, though, it's going to be survival. Days like today, I guess they're relatively common here so the wind blowing 20, 30 miles an hour, got to get the ball in play, put it on the green and kind of survive and then take advantage of the par 5s."

Less is more for Keegan Bradley as the former US PGA Championship winner strives to add the Stonehaven Cup to his 2018 trophy collection.

One of the leading drawcards for this week's Australian Open, a bleary-eyed Bradley spent just a couple of hours acquainting himself to The Lakes course having only jetted in to Sydney from the US on Monday morning.

"I played the back nine. My rule that I've kind of come up with over the last year or so, which has helped, is I don't put much stock into anything that goes on today or tomorrow in terms of my golf," the American said.

"I don't practice a bunch, I'm just here to be awake and not go to sleep.

"Over the years I've maybe been too worried about how I feel today and how my game is, and now these are just days to get me ready to play on Thursday and it has made a big difference in my finishes."

After three lean seasons from 2015-17, Bradley has enjoyed a resurgence on the PGA Tour this year by winning the BMW Championship and a FedEx Cup playoffs event in August.

He opened the 2019 wrap-around season with a top-20 finish at the CIMB Classic and was last start sixth at last week's HSBC Champions in China.

The 32-year-old, who burst to international prominence by winning his maiden major in 2011, believes he's in the best form of his career.

"I'm a much more well-rounded player," Bradley said.

"I had to tackle the putting issue, which was a lot harder than I expected."

Like Adam Scott, Bradley had to ditch his trusty anchor putter at the start of 2016 - and the results weren't flash.

"It caught me by surprise with how difficult it was and I wasn't quite ready for it," he said.

Now committed to "an arm lock style putter", the world No.30 craves etching his name on the Stonehaven Cup, a trophy already featuring many of golf's greatest players including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.

"I always remember on the Golf Channel watching these tournaments and as a kid being excited," said Bradley, whose only previous Australian Open appearance came as a teenager at Moonah Links in 2005.

"Australia plays a big part in the world in golf. There's a lot of great players that come from here, and getting a win outside of the US would mean a lot on a resume."

Olympian Marcus Fraser is proposing officials scrap Australian Open prize money in a bid to lure more of the world's best golfers down under.

Fraser, who proudly wore the green and gold for Australia at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, finishing fifth, would like to see the tournament "mix it up for a year" after failing to attract any of the world's top 25 players for this week's Open in Sydney.

The Open has been spoilt in recent years with a raft of superstars including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, two-time champion Jordan Spieth and fellow former world No.1s Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Adam Scott headlining the fields.

The biggest names teeing up at The Lakes from Thursday are world No.29 Matt Kuchar and fellow American Keegan Bradley (world No.30), both recent winners on the US PGA Tour.

Cameron Smith is the top local hope in the absence of Day, Scott and Marc Leishman.

Fraser on Tuesday floated the radical idea of ditching prize money, which this year totals $1.25 million, with $225,000 going to the winner.

"I'd love to see the idea of maybe not putting on any prize money at all," he told Macquarie Sports Radio Breakfast.

"Purely just play for the Stonehaven Cup and just mix it up for a year."

He suggested promoting Australia as a destination instead, as well as reminding players of the prestige of the Stonehaven Cup - a famous trophy won by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson.

In modern times, the likes of Spieth, McIlroy, Scott and Greg Norman have all reigned.

Fraser said he'd personally have no qualms playing for no prize money.

"I would love to have my name on that trophy. That's what it's all about," he said.

"Don't worry about the prize money, it's all about the championship."

Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt was non-committal about Fraser's radical proposal but admitted the sport needed to be more innovative.

"That's a great challenge for golf in general" he said.

"Golf's got to look at how it can change because we've been ultra-consistent in terms of format for tournaments over a period of time,

"I don't think we've done a good enough job of bringing players into the living rooms and Australian households over time.

"Other sports have probably done a better job than us, so I do think golf has to change.

"But I don't just think it's the Australian Open or Australian tournaments.

"Golf needs to have a look at the broadcast generally and look at how it's engaging with people."

The Australian Open will have the chance to attract some of golf's biggest names next year after securing dates a week before the Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt announced the 2019 Open will be held on December 5-8 at The Australian in Sydney.

That's a week before the Internationals team plays a United States team captained by Tiger Woods in the biennial Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne.

"This is great news for the Australian Open and we're excited about what this means for Australian golf fans," Pitt said.

"We had a brilliant battle for the Stonehaven Cup in 2011 in the lead-up to the previous Australian edition of the Presidents Cup and we're hopeful we can build a similar field in 2019.

"We had very fruitful discussions with the PGA of Australia to reach this decision and admire the respect they've shown the national championship."

Cameron Smith's coach believes the youngster is on the cusp of building a great domestic golf resume as he prepares to headline the field at this week's Australian Open.

The 25-year-old Smith is seeking to add a maiden Open title to his 2017 Australian PGA Championship victory and long-time swing instructor Grant Field says a series of close calls have made his star pupil hungrier than ever.

US PGA Tour player Smith finished fourth behind winner Cameron Davis last year, 12 months after losing to American superstar Jordan Spieth in a sudden-death play-off at Royal Sydney.

"He definitely wants to cement himself as one of the great Australian players," Field told AAP.

"Cam is a passionate Queenslander and a passionate Australian, so in his mind he wants as many Australian wins as he can manage.

"He's had a number of really good finishes at the Open and his win at the Aussie PGA is validation he has what it takes.

"This summer is a good opportunity to take that to the next level."

Brisbane native Smith was out practising late on Monday afternoon at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney, which is hosting its first Open since 2012.

The world No.33 says he has been training hard at his Florida base of TPC Sawgrass since the US PGA Tour's Asia swing of October - a trip that included a share of seventh in Korea.

"That's the goal; to complete the (Open and PGA) double ... I've been thinking about the Australian Open all year," Smith said.

"I've prepared really well this year, because I'm especially determined to finally win this one.

"I've been watching the Aussie events since I was a kid, so to be out here competing and having chances to win the Australian Open has been special."

Smith will also make his golf World Cup debut for Australia alongside countryman Marc Leishman in Melbourne next week.

Local golf stalwarts Greg Chalmers and Robert Allenby have backed the Australian Open to be a sporting success despite the absence of big guns Jason Day, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman.

The trio, who are among the four highest-ranked Australians in the world, will not tee up this week at The Lakes for various reasons.

It will be the first Open since 2008 without at least one of former world No.1s Day and Scott, while regular American visitor Jordan Spieth pulled the pin from the event he has won twice in four years.

Day and Leishman declined to contest the Stonehaven Cup for family reasons, while Scott is skipping the Australian summer events for just the second time in 18 years.

Two-time Open champion Allenby empathises with the trio, having lived in the US while playing on the PGA Tour for more than two decades.

"Perspectives change when you have a family," Allenby told AAP.

"Leishman, Jason Day and Adam Scott all have young families and sometimes you get to a point of the year when you don't want to travel.

"Would it be great to have our top players? Sure, but I understand it.

"Plus, the opportunity to make a lot of money overseas is greater now than it's ever been.

"I wish the Australian Open purse was a little bit higher than it is because it used to be (high)."

Chalmers believes PGA Tour players Cameron Smith - the highest-ranked Australian in the field - and 23-year-old defending Open champion Cameron Davis will wow Sydney fans.

"Any time you don't have those calibre players (such as Day) in the field, it's a chance for someone else," said Chalmers, a dual Open champion who won the 2011 edition at The Lakes.

"Personally, I'd like to see (Smith and Davis) handle that opportunity.

"Aside from myself (winning), that is the outcome I'm rooting for."

Chalmers says the Open field still has plenty of drawcards in recent PGA Tour winners Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Keegan Bradley.

"I think Golf Australia has done a great job of getting some American stars and international players," he said.

Anirban Lahiri is hungry to lift the Australian Open's Stonehaven Cup and lay a platform for his beloved Indian cricket team ahead of their Down Under tour.

The 31-year-old Lahiri will make his Open debut in Sydney this week at The Lakes, the beginning of a two-tournament trip to Australia.

Coming off a tie for 10th at the US PGA Tour event in Mexico on Sunday, Lahiri likes his chances of earning a first worldwide win in three years.

"I feel great about my game right now; I feel ready to win again," Lahiri told AAP.

"My caddie is Australian and he has told me great things about The Lakes, so I'm really looking forward to the Australian Open."

Next week, Lahiri will partner Gaganjeet Bhullar at golf's World Cup in Melbourne, a two-man teams event India has never won before.

An avid cricket fan, Lahiri is determined to post strong results while all eyes in his homeland are fixed on Australia with Virat Kohli's side arriving for three Twenty20s, four Tests and three ODIs starting November 21.

Lahiri acknowledges his own performance was an opportunity to gain exposure for golf in India, which has a population of 1.3 billion.

"What better way to kick off an Indian-Aussie summer with some success of my own," Lahiri said.

"Golf is an emerging sport in India and people are starting to taking notice of it.

"Personally, I would be incredibly proud to help deliver a first World Cup win for India."

India has never won a Test series in Australia, but Lahiri is confident the team can get the job done as Australia are without banned stars Steve Smith and David Warner.

"(The ball-tampering saga in South Africa) was very unfortunate; being a sportsperson myself I can relate to the pain a lot of the Aussie cricketers and fans probably feel right now," Lahiri said.

"This would be a great opportunity for the team to get that first Test victory Down Under.

"I'm going out to the (T20 match between Australia and India on November 21) at the MCG and I think I'm more excited about that than playing golf," Lahiri joked.