Elvis Smylie showed nerves of steel to fend off the challenge of his golfing idol Cameron Smith to claim his maiden DP World Tour title with a two-shot victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
Related: Aussies rule the roost on home turf in Queensland
The 22-year-old secured his first professional success at the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open last month on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and continued his rich vein of form with a two-shot triumph at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
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Smylie was one of two players to receive the Cameron Smith Scholarship in 2019 and he began Sunday’s round alongside the three-time winner of this event in an all-Australian final group including Marc Leishman.
The Gold Coast native shared the lead with Smith after the second round, but the 150th Open Champion endured a roller coaster front nine on Sunday of the weather-shortened event, including three birdies and four bogeys as Smylie reached the turn with a three-shot lead thanks to a blemish-free 32.
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The son of four-time grand slam doubles champion Liz Smylie stayed calm with a number clutch par putts down the stretch for a flawless 67 in his total of 14 under par, finishing two clear of Smith.
Smylie and Smith got their battle under way immediately when both players carded opening birdies to move two clear of the chasing pack. Smylie showed his composure at the second by rolling in a lengthy birdie putt to reach 12 under, but Smith responded with a birdie at the third to rejoin him at the summit.
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Smith struggled for momentum with the flat stick as he three-putted at the par-three fourth, picked the shot back up at the fifth and bogeyed the sixth to remain one adrift. However, Smylie kept his cool and when he rolled in his birdie effort from 10 feet at the same hole, he was two clear.
Smith’s colourful card continued with a birdie at the seventh, only for Smylie to match his idol to reach 14 under – a score he never deviated from. The World Number 736’s advantage stretched to three as Smith finished his front nine with another dropped shot to slip back to 11 under alongside Anthony Quayle, who carded a flawless 63 to set the clubhouse target.
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Smylie showed the touch of a champion as he holed clutch par putts at the tenth, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th to remain three clear, while the rowdy spectators at the 17th party hole roared Smith on as he holed out with his second to trim the lead to two.
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The leader looked under pressure when his tee shot at the last landed behind a tree and his second shot found the greenside bunker, but a stunning response to three feet completed a spotless card and secured the first title of the 2025 Race to Dubai, and an early lead on the Opening Swing.
Quayle rolled in a 110 foot putt for his eighth birdie of the day to finish in third alongside Leishman, who mixed three birdies and a bogey, at 11 under.
Winner’s Quotes
Elvis Smylie: To know that I have a job secured overseas now, it feels great. Going into the start of the Australian season, I know there would be a lot of events in a row. For me, playing a lot of competitive golf is important because I wanted to continue to build. I feel like, as each week goes on, I’m getting competitively stronger.
So to have the opportunity to go overseas and play on the DP World Tour, where there are a lot more events in a row, I fell like it’s going to be great for me.
It’s a dream come true. I just said to Matt (Clayton, caddie) that I won’t forget this day, you know, playing with Cam and Leish there, I looked up to these guys since I was a kid and just being in their presence and compete against them for the title, I’ve learnt so much and just so grateful and so honoured right now.
My short game was great, I definitely saved myself in that department. I was pretty average off the tee, but golf is a game of imperfection and today that was a sign of that.
I just told myself to find a way of getting it around and doing my best, executing every shot as well as I can and my short game was great, so I gave that the full credit that it deserves.
I saw my mum in the corner there, tearing up before I holed that last putt so everyone who has been on this journey with me, they know how hard I’ve worked to be here and hopefully this is just the start of good things to come.
