Elvis Smylie takes early lead at BMW Australian PGA Championship
Elvis Smylie in action during round one – image Australian Golf Media
The early morning players on day one of the BMW Australian PGA Championship were blessed with near-perfect scoring conditions and, if the leaderboard at the halfway point of the day was any indication, they took advantage.
Despite a deluge of rain over the first three days of the week, the Royal Queensland layout stood up reasonably well given the circumstances and, with little wind, soft conditions and preferred lies in effect, the Royal Queensland layout was soon under siege.
Most of the focus for the fans who were at the course early for play beginning at 6.00 am, was on the marquee pairing of three-time Australian PGA Champion, Cameron Smith, defending champion Min Woo Lee and former world number one Jason Day.
It would be Lee who took charge early when, beginning his round from the 10th, birdied 5 of his first 11 holes to take a two-shot lead at that point.
Lee, though, would bogey his next two holes after being left at the par 3 13th (4th of the layout) and long at the 14th but, like Smith and Day, he would birdie the very reachable par 5 16th and all three were at 4 under.
Behind them on the golf course, however, was exciting young Australian Elvis Smylie, who just a few weeks ago broke through for his first and perhaps much-awaited win on the PGA Tour of Australasia after numerous top-three finishes over the last three years.
Smylie, an elegant and extremely gifted golfer and a former Australian Boys Champion, also began at the 10th and after making the turn in 33 he added five more birdies and a bogey over his closing nine for a round of 65.
When the morning field had finished the 22-year-old was ahead by one over Swiss golfer, Joel Girrbach, who after a good start to his season on the DP World Tour has missed eight of his last ten cuts.
For Smylie though it is a continuation of the good form he has shown in the early stages of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s current season having won the WA Open and finished 3rd at the WAPGA in October.
“It’s a home game for me this week,” said Smylie. “I mean, I’m from the Gold Coast, it’s only an hour’s drive. I’ve played a lot of golf here. I’m quite familiar with the course and every part of my game’s really good at the moment. I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing.
“The greens are amazing considering after all the rain, so kudos to the greenkeepers and everything and Duane, my caddie, we’re working really well together and really excited for the next few days.
The Duane he refers to is a relatively new caddy for him, Duane Smith, who just so happens to be the husband of Australian LPGA Tour player Sarah Jane Smith.
Smylie is aware that this week’s event is at a different level to that he has been performing so well in of late, but he is delighted to have the chance to compete against some of the game’s best players such as Day and Smith and Lee.
I know Cam better than Jason, but I actually met Jason at the Greg Norman Medal on Tuesday night, and that was really nice. It’s just great to have him back here and supporting Australian golf. I want to be where he is, so it’s definitely motivating to play against those guys for sure.
“I think you try to just keep the levels the same compared to what every other tournament is, but it’s a little bit tricky when you know that it’s a bigger tournament.
“It’s great having all the Aussies back home and supporting the Australian tournaments. And it’s great to compete against them because, ultimately, I want to be in their shoes and what they’re doing in their career. It’s great for me to be able to compare my game against theirs and see what areas I need to improve on.”
Smylie has been working with renowned West Australia coach Ritchie Smith over the past 12 months or so, much of that work managing some of the injury issues Smylie has experienced with his lithe physique.
“I mean this time last year I changed my whole team. Ritchie Smith is my coach, Luke Mackey is my S and C coach, Marty McInnes is my physio and then Michael Lloyd’s my mental coach. Everyone that was in my team before, pretty much left and that was my decision. I needed a clean slate and I feel like I’m really happy with what we’re doing all together.
“They’re all here this week, so it’s great for everyone to be at the same tournament and we’re all working together really well. And yeah, my game’s gone from strength to strength ever since.
Smith also has Min Woo Lee, Minjee Lee and Hannah Green amongst those he guides, and so he was on course today to keep a watchful eye on Smylie, Lee and others.
Day and Smith finished at 4 under 67 and two from the early day one lead while Lee who had been so impressive early dropped three shots in four holes late in his round to finish with 3 under 68.
Day was playing his first tournament in Australia since 2017 and if there was any suggestion that the crowd would not be as warm given his absence, Day was quick to put that to bed.
“No, I’m not too concerned about it. I mean, usually the Australian crowds are great. There’s never a problem. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, so I’m just not too sure how things would unfold. But it’s been great. The crowds have been fantastic and seeing a lot of junior golfers out there.
“It’s fun. It’s only going to get bigger and better as the week progresses, but also as this tournament gets better with BMW. I mean, I played with Wolfgang (BMW) yesterday and he says that we’re going to slowly improve this tournament, which is fantastic. I think that’s what Australian golf needs, a big backer like BMW, and Rolex always brings just that little bit extra to a tournament and a good feel of that. So yeah, no, it’s been great.
So how was his day out with his playing partners Smith and Lee?
“It was good. Yeah, no, it was great. I mean, obviously Cammy’s a big draw here. It’s nice to get out there and watch Min. It’s unbelievable how far that guy hits it. He seems like he’s got a lot of control. He just had just a couple of bad breaks and obviously some swings out there, but overall, he’s playing pretty solid. It’s always nervous to come back and try and defend.
“That’s always hard. And then when you’re in the marquee group, there’s a lot of people watching and it’s always a little bit more nerve-wracking coming back as a defending champ. So I would assume that he will settle in nicely over the next three days.
“And then also Cam, Cammy’s under the weather sick, poor fellow, which is not surprising. He was in the
hunt last week and it was pretty hot last week, but he’s a little bit under the weather but I think he’ll be fine come Sunday.”
Smith confirmed Day’s comments on his health but was not about to make too much of an issue with it.
Yeah, just I think Tuesday out here in the rain and then Wednesday in the rain, a couple of big weeks and stuff. I think it just got to me a little bit. I had a good rest yesterday afternoon, but yeah, just a little bit of a head cold thing.
“Nothing too bad. Just a little bit achy. Yeah, I’ll be right. I’ll live.”
Jason Day gets his round underway today – image Australian Golf Media
