Elvis Smylie Claims Australian PGA Championship, Marking Second Professional Win

Elvis Smylie has secured his initial two professional victories within a five-week timeframe. The final leaderboard for the Australian PGA Championship was as follows: -14 E Smylie (Aus); -12 C Smith (Aus); -11 M Leishman (Aus), A Quayle (Aus); -10 D Micheluzzi (Aus); -9 A Ayora (Spa), C Davis (Aus). Selected other scores included: -8 J Parry (Eng), J Day (Aus); -7 M Southgate (Eng); -6 J Smith (Eng); -4 R Ramsay (Sco). A full leaderboard was also available. On Sunday in Brisbane, Elvis Smylie won the Australian PGA Championship, successfully fending off former Open champion Cameron Smith during the final nine holes. The 22-year-old Queensland native completed the tournament with a four-under-par 67, bringing his total to 14 under. The event had been shortened to 54 holes due to heavy rainfall that led to the cancellation of play on Friday. Cameron Smith of Australia, who has won this championship three times previously, recorded a final round of 69, placing him two strokes behind at 12 under. Fellow Australians Marc Leishman (69) and Anthony Quayle (63) finished one shot further back. Smylie, aged 22, was among two recipients of the Cameron Smith Scholarship in 2019. He and Smith were tied for the lead after the second round, entering Sunday’s play. Ranked 736th globally, Smylie, whose mother is Liz Smylie, a former four-time Grand Slam tennis doubles champion, had only achieved his inaugural professional victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia the previous month. Despite this, after making four birdies to establish a three-shot lead by the turn, he maintained composure, executing multiple par saves to retain his advantage over Smith, who made birdies on the 15th and 17th holes. Smylie commented, “It’s a dream come true,” adding, “I just said to Matt [Clayton, caddie] that I won’t forget this day, you know, playing with Cam and Leish there.” He continued, “I’ve looked up to these guys since I was a kid and just being in their presence and to compete against them for the title, I’ve learned so much and [I’m] just so grateful and so honoured right now.” Smylie also stated, “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.” Smylie further remarked, “My mum and dad have been with me every step of the way. 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.”