Fox and Ortiz match Smylie’s early lead
Elvis Smylie and caddy Brad Beecher en route to a round of 65 this morning – image Golf Australia
When play drew to a close after a demanding opening day of the 2025 Crown Australian Open Championship at Royal Melbourne, three players, one from the morning field and two who played late in the day led at 6 under, the trio opening up a two-shot lead as the event heads into day two tomorrow.
Queensland’s Elvis Smylie, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz all recorded opening rounds of 65, all three putting together impressive rounds on a day where blustery winds buffeted the iconic layout and an increasingly firm golf course added to the demands.
23-year-old Queenslander, Elvis Smylie, took the Royal Melbourne composite layout by the scruff of its neck in his opening round which began at 7.10 am and when he walked from the course around 12.30, his round of 65 had given him a two-shot lead.
At one stage, six players were tied at 3 under and in the lead before Smylie played his homeward nine in 30 to move clear.
In windy and firm conditions, even from his early tee time, Smylie bogeyed his first hole but thereafter his game and strategy were exemplary, adding seven birdies, including three in a row at his 4th, 5th and 6th holes.
Smylie has just completed his rookie season on the DP World Tour, where he performed with distinction, making it all the way to the top 50 who played the DP World Tour Championship. His win at last year’s PGA Championship, followed by a 5th place at the Australian Open a week later, set up his season and although he tread water for much of the year thereafter, a great runner-up finish in France and a 6th place in Denmark elevated his status late in the season.
The former Australian Boys Champion has long been considered one of Australia’s brightest hopes for the future, and today he displayed the benefit of the experience he has gained this year, producing such a good round while playing with Cam Smith and former Masters Champion Danny Willett.
“Yeah, it was really solid round, 65 round around Royal Melbourne, the first round of an Aussie Open would be great,” said Smylie. “That three-putt to kick things off wasn’t that great, but I felt like I did a really good job of putting that behind me. And as you can probably hear, the winds are a big factor today. I felt like I did a good job at using my creativity and imagination with flighting a lot of really nice shots, and then always making sure I’m leaving it on the right side of the hole.
“I think it just goes to show how much I’ve learned over on the European tour, the DP World Tour that is. I think week, week out you’re always adjusting, adapting. The courses are so different, the climates are so different.
“So I think you’re constantly adding tools to your toolbox. You’re playing against some of the best players in the world over there. And I’ve played around Royal Melbourne a lot of times before, so especially in this northerly breeze, which is quite a tricky breeze to play in, I felt like I navigated it quite well.”
Ryan Fox – impressed late in the day – image Golf Australia
Fox played in the afternoon field where the conditions became more demanding as the day wore on, with a firmer golf course and slightly gustier winds.
“It was a tough day out there today,” said the 38 year old. I think if they hadn’t slowed the greens down, we would’ve struggled to play through the middle of the day there. It got pretty nasty, and yeah, I was very, very happy with the score today.
“I would’ve taken even par today. This golf course is tricky enough. There’s obviously a lot of trouble, especially with all the crosswinds. It’s pretty wide off the tee for the most part, if you hit the right club, but with all the crosswinds, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. So I was very happy I managed to stay away from all the bad stuff today and holed a couple of putts early and sort of kept me on my way and hung on through the middle, through the really tough stretch of holes there, and then took advantage of the par fives and a couple of good wedge shots coming home.
“I’ve been playing really nicely at home. I’ve had two months off, so I’ve kind of expected a little bit of rust last week and surprised myself a little bit through the first 27 holes and then the rust kicked in after that, and I made some silly mistakes and really sloppy bogeys and stuff like that, but there were some positive signs. I played really nicely on Sunday last week and felt like 3-under was the worst score I could have shot.
“Yeah, it would be a little nice little early Christmas present, I reckon (to win). I’ve put myself in good position, obviously, but there’s a whole lot of golf to be played and I expect Royal Melbourne to get some of its own back on me at some point during the week.”
Carlos Ortiz – image Golf Australia
Ortiz has won multiple events on the PGA, Korn Ferry and Asian Tours, but in more recent times has been a member of LIV Golf, where he has already won an event in Houston, the city he also won his only PGA Tour event.
“I mean, it feels like kind of linksy, like an Open championship, so I think the only other time I’ve played something like this, it’s over there,” said Ortiz.
“I guess we got lucky, as soon as we got on 16 green, the wind changed, and so we played downwind, we hit a good driv,e and I hit a good second shot to about 15, 20 feet and made the putt.”
“I mean, honestly, it was like the cherry on top of the year, like my last golfing trip,” added Ortiz, referring to playing Royal Melbourne for the first time. “So yeah, playing Royal Melbourne, it’s always been something I’ve had in my bucket list and I saw the opportunity this year and I took it. So I’m very happy, I’m very impressed with the way they run the tournament here. You can definitely feel the history, the way they’re running the tournament, it’s proper. So I’m glad I came down.”
Rory McIlroy might not have performed to expectation on day one, but that he was responsible for some of the largest crowds seen on a golf course in 16 years, suggests he has done his job for the event already, and he has hardly played himself out of it at this stage.
McIlroy opened with a lengthy birdie putt at his first hole, but then bogeyed the 2nd and 3rd. He struggled for much of the day, but, despite being outside the top 50 when he finished his round of 72, he knows he is still very much in the event.
“It’s tricky,” said McIlroy. “Very, very tricky. Greens are getting firm. It was a good thing they didn’t cut them today; it would’ve been unplayable. But yeah, really tricky conditions. Felt like I could have shot under par or shot something in the sixties, but it doesn’t look like anyone’s going to get too far away today. So I limited the damage and hopefully conditions are a little better over the next few days, and could make a run.”
McIlroy might have been disappointed and frustrated with his opening round, but that so many people flocked to the golf course was a testament to his standing in the game, and he acknowledged the turnout.
“Yeah. I mean some crowds for seven o’clock in the morning. Yeah, it was great. It was a wonderful atmosphere to play in. Obviously playing with Adam in Min Woo too. Yeah, it was unbelievable. It was really cool to see how many people were lining the fairways and framing the greens and stuff, so yeah, it was cool.”
At the completion of play, 41 players had broken par with a cut score, dependent on conditions, likely to be around 1 or 2 over.
McIlroy, at 1 over, has some work to do if he is to ensure he is around at the weekend to justify the expense so many have forked out to come to see him play, but he is also not far enough from the leaders to count him out of contention.
