A teen prodigy who was touted for greatness, Smylie has had to find his feet gradually in the world of professional golf.

Now 22 years of age, he burst through with a maiden Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia victory at the WA Open last month and now looks primed to take his place within the top echelon of the game.

He had three of his eight birdies in his final holes in a round of 6-under 65, one clear of French star Victor Perez, DP World Tour regular Joel Girrbach, Chilean Christobal Del Solar and Victorian Matias Sanchez.

Both Perez and Sanchez had to play through the worst of the conditions in the afternoon wave, persistent rain complicating shot-making and causing caddies consternation.

All smiles from @ElvisSmylie 😄#AusPGA | @bmwau

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 21, 2024

With Duane Smith on the bag for the second straight week, Smylie had no such issues, holing a bunker shot at his final hole – the par-5 ninth to edge one stroke clear.

“I hit a really good second shot, actually just flared a little bit into that green-side trap,” said Smylie.

“I had a little bit of room to work with the bunker shot, but I got it a bit fat and ended up going into the bunker ahead of me and then I holed the next one.

“Technically didn’t touch the green and I made four, which is a good way to finish and lots of positives out of the day.

“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.”

There were plenty of positives, too, in the morning supergroup of Jason Day, Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee.

Defending champion Lee started fastest with four birdies in his first six holes but it was Day and Smith who shared best scores of the trio with matching 4-under 67s. Lee bogeyed holes four, five and eight to post 3-under and tied for 14th.

Although he sits one shot off the lead, Perez’s 5-under 66 could be considered the round of the day given the conditions he faced.

Victor Perez has entered the chat 💬

The Frenchman joins the equal lead at 6-under. #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/aaL8Hx62Ri

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 21, 2024

After making back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 he had joined Smylie at 6-under, a dropped shot when he found the penalty area at the par-5 15th and a missed 12-footer for birdie on 18 keeping him in a share of second.

“Everything seems to bother you a little bit more when you’re not playing as well, but I felt like I was hitting the ball nicely so I was able to just free flow and play,” said Perez.

“I think based on what I saw, we should get more of the good draw (tomorrow). I think there’s some rain coming in the afternoon tomorrow, so it’d be nice to come out, put on a good round early and hopefully see the elements happen in the afternoon.”

South Korean Minkyu Kim produced one of the highlights of Round 1 with a hole-in-one at the par-3 11th, his 8-iron from 147 metres landing on the front edge of the green before hopping into the bottom of the cup.

Headed for the PGA TOUR in 2025, Del Solar joined the leaderboard logjam with an extraordinary late run on Thursday.

Even par through nine holes, Del Solar made four birdies in his final five holes in some of the day’s heaviest rain to also post 5-under.

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The Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Major Events Program and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.