It’s what we expected when he burst onto the professional scene as a 19-year-old more than three years ago and very nearly won first time out.

He’d finished second as an amateur the week prior.

It was what was predicted as his potential and elite sporting bloodlines flourished as a teenager under the guidance of Ian Triggs on the Gold Coast.

Yet professional sport is littered with talented teens who struggle to transition into stable playing careers.

Smylie is no different, having used up sponsor invitations to play a dozen events on the DP World Tour before ever having the status to be in the field on his own merit.

Before this week, the first event of the 2025 DP World Tour season, Smylie had played 12 DP World Tour events outside Australia across three seasons.

He cashed a cheque in just one.

Something had to change, and change quickly, so he didn’t suffer the same fate of so many who disappear into oblivion.

He handed the keys to West Australian coach Ritchie Smith and surrounded himself with a proven team that now includes Luke Mackey (strength and conditioning), Marty McInnes (physiotherapist) and Michael Lloyd (mental coach).

His body has also undergone a transformation, almost five kilograms added so that a powerful swing was grounded in stability.

It was evident at the WA PGA Championship in October that something had changed.

Smylie carried himself differently. The skinny kid with a silky swing had been supplanted by a young man who looked in control of his own destiny.

He led by three through 52 holes at Kalgoorlie before finishing one shot shy of the playoff.

A week later he demonstrated his exceptional ball-striking in ferocious winds to win a playoff against Jak Carter and claim the WA Open at Mandurah Country Club.

If that was a coming of age, Sunday’s showdown with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman put the golf world on notice that he is ready to go toe-to-toe with any player on the planet.

Smylie had half a dozen opportunities to fade from the top of the leaderboard in front of thousands of Smith’s faithful fans on Sunday yet declined each and every one.

He sent a message to his idol, no less, with two birdies out of the blocks and entered the back nine of what had become a 54-hole sprint with a three-stroke lead.

Time and again he conjured recoveries that can only have exasperated Smith, a major champion and former world No.2 known to inflict short game wizardry of his own.

Smylie in no way disrespected his elders; he simply played as though he was now one of them.

Some of that stems from exposure to the highest levels of sport at a young age, mother Liz and father Peter both highly accomplished professional tennis players.

As Liz stood to the side watching her son stand over a four-foot putt to change his life with tears in her eyes, Elvis stayed resolute.

Just.

“It was close. I saw Mum crying before that last putt but I wanted to keep my bogey-free round going.”

The job wasn’t done until he stepped up and calmly completed the mission that he and his team devised and which has now secured a place on the DP World Tour for the next two years.

At 22 years of age, he suddenly looks the complete package, an exceptional athlete with a mentality well beyond his years.

“I knew that it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing,” Smylie said of his first three years as a professional.

“Everything that has happened in my career so far, it’s been a blessing in disguise.

“It was just my time. Everything that happened today happened for a reason.

“I’m a Christian and I believe in God and I knew that He was looking down on me today.

“Everything that happened today happened for a reason and it was my time today, definitely.”

What the 2022 Open champion didn’t expect to happen so quickly was having a scholarship recipient pip him for a major Aussie title like his fellow Queenslander did at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

Smylie’s bogey-free 67 to Smith’s 69 under the pressure of the final round gave him a two-shot victory, his second on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia in the 2024-25 season and his first DP World Tour success, propelling his career to the next level.

It might be the first of many duels to come, providing another fascinating sub-plot for Australian golf.

“Helping Elvis out along the way is really cool,” Smith said.

“It’s a long way to come from being a junior golfer to a professional golfer and I think he just keeps making the right steps.

“You could really tell even when he was there that week (in the United States) that he was a hard worker so that’s a really good trait.

“He should enjoy this win, but also just keep working really hard because he’s still got a really long way to go.

“He had such a great round, he putted unbelievable, and yeah, it was awesome to watch.”

The other member of the final group, Victorian Marc Leishman, finished in a tie for third after a final round of 69, three shots back from the champion.

“Elvis played great. It was a big day for him,” Leishman said.

“His wedge play was good, he putted great with those key putts (for par saves) on 12, 15 and elsewhere.

“He took his medicine when he had to. He just made the right decisions and hit the right shots which is what you have to do to win. Impressive.”

After making the cut on the number, Lee was in the third group out at 6:49am on Sunday at Royal Queensland Golf Club, hundreds of fans on hand to see the 26-year-old in action before he heads to Melbourne.

Lee responded with a round of 5-under 67 that briefly elevated him inside the top 10, the final group of Cam Smith, Elvis Smylie and Marc Leishman starting their rounds as he signed his scorecard.

It is a positive step forward for a drawcard who has had trouble bending down after suffering a freak injury in his hotel earlier in the week.

“It was just a freak accident,” said Lee.

“I literally just turned in bed and something popped.

“It’s getting a lot better, but I still can’t bend down to read putts. I was half kneeling.

“This is the first time I’m telling anyone but it’s getting better and hopefully next week I can do that, but that’s the reason why I can’t bend down.

“I can fully swing a club at whatever miles per hour but I can’t bend down, which is really astonishing. So it’s a good injury, I guess.”

Twelve months ago, Lee produced one of the most electrifying performances in championship history, his chip-in eagle at the par-5 ninth a pivotal moment that will be replayed for decades.

It was why he was pleased to give his loyal fan base something to cheer as well as build towards next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

“It’s obviously amazing,” Lee added.

“Two days, before seven o’clock and there’s hundreds of people out here, which is amazing to see.

“I’m not anywhere near the lead and these guys are supporting me.

“Everyone’s out there now and they’re still waiting for me.

“It’s very special to have that support and that’s a reason why I come back here and play.”

Photo: Dan Peled/PGA of Australia

So much so, that the partner has agreed to do it all again on Sunday.

In a just a few years, the party hole has become synonymous with Royal Queensland and the staging of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The stands are bigger, the noise from the elevated decks surrounding the green is louder, the DJ keeps the music pumping and golfers are more prepared for this unique diversion from the regular rhythm of the round.

You had golfers like Daniel Gale urging more noise from the fans even before he teed off. He promptly plonked his tee shot two metres from the pin and grinned broadly. He should have taken a bow.

Aussie Cam Davis hit a near-perfect 52-degree gap wedge to just 15 centimetres when he reached the hole at 8am in just the second group of the day to play the hole.

There was generous applause from the few early risers in the stands. It was nothing like the throng of party-lovers, Hawaiian shirt aficionados, Scottish cooks in chef hats and so many others roaring by early afternoon in the sun.

The Davis shot stood the test as the best shot on 17 for the day, although England’s Marco Penge bounced one by the flag to near point-blank putting range.

"If Scottsdale recreated that, that would be tremendous" 😆

HUGE review from @JDayGolf about the Dabble Party Hole at the 17th Hole 🥳 #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/Vz3m2PQIKY

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024

How do we describe the party hole? It’s like a separate event within the broader tournament.

It’s like a Powerplay on steroids in a T20 cricket match when the action heightens, a golden point finale in the NRL or a penalty shootout in football.

As Marc Leishman said after his own birdie there: “I enjoy it. It’s just good that people who might not otherwise go to the golf find it a really cool experience.

“I love that it’s a short par 3, too. And it was a makeable pin placement where guys were definitely scaring the hole (with their shots).”

That is the beauty of the 17th at RQ. It’s the shortest hole on the course at 125m and was playing at just 115m at the front of the green on Saturday.

You expect most hole-in-one promotions with a big prize to have the hole cut in a tough spot as if behind a bank vault door to protect it. Not so at RQ. It was gettable.

It had protection with a hump just on the green that twisted balls left – as it did the tee shot of American Harry Higgs – who was close to hitting a pearler.

Higgs still finished the hole with a smile. One fan with a can shouted: “Great to have you in Australia, brother.”

It was a far tougher par 3 over water, with a big bucks hole-in-prize prize, that was first introduced to the Australian PGA at Royal Pines nearly a decade ago.

That played to 176m on the back tier with all sorts of undulations protecting it.

When Mat Goggin got within a metre of a windfall with his 7-iron in 2015, one wit shouted: “Matty, you could nearly have bought Tasmania.”

That’s the party hole. It brings out the fun of sport. The players are happy to buy in, too.

Cam Smith fed his wedge down off the higher ridge on the green to inside six feet. He sunk the putt for birdie and got his arms moving to urge more from the crowd.

They happily obliged. He feigned throwing his ball to the crowd, as is tradition, and walked off with it instead.

Playing partner Jason Day gave the hole a positive comparison to the boisterous par 3 party hole at TPC Scottsdale, where the Phoenix Open is played annually.

“I think the music is great, kind of drowns out the crowd, and I think Scottsdale just doesn’t do it enough,” Day said.

“That was actually really fun. I think the crowd were very respectful and you could tell they were all having a good time. Hats off to the PGA for making a party hole.”

The crowd loving Cam on the Dabble Party Hole 🥳@dabblecomau | #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/YUALp4OKoT

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024

It’s also a hole to celebrate golfers. Australian golf stalwarts Rod Pampling and John Senden are both 50-plus and play on the Champions Tour these days.

Both gave fans lovely birdies on the 17th and the crowd responded generously.

The fans had the fill… 35 birdies in all on Saturday.

Davis ruled on the day. The music piped through the speakers at 8am was perfect with, “Let The Sunshine In.”

It did, finally, and the crowd on the 17th loved it.

There will be a full house back for more on Sunday.

Only Germany’s Jannik De Bruyn (63) bettered Smith’s round of 6-under 65 on an electrifying Saturday that saw 72 players advance to the Sunday sprint that will decide who lifts the Joe Kirkwood Cup.

Smith has already raised it on three occasions (2018, 2019 and 2022) but will face stern competition from two very familiar faces in the final group.

He and 22-year-old Elvis Smylie (67) share the 36-hole lead at 10-under par, one clear of Smith’s Ripper GC teammate Marc Leishman (66).

Leishman and Smith went head-to-head in the final round of the 2018 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines by two shots, a victory that he says is still something of a sore point with the tall Victorian.

“I think I got away with one there,” said Smith, who shot out of the blocks with three birdies in his first four holes and made a birdie at the Dabble Party Hole to rapturous applause.

“Leish is still salty about that one. The old bounce off the grate. He brings it up a lot.

“He still hasn’t lived that one down, so I won’t be saying anything.

“There’s probably a little bit of anger in his eyes.”

“I’d like to think this is my home event” ❤️

Cameron Smith wants to see all of Queensland out in the crowds at the @bmwau #AusPGA for tomorrow's final round ⛳️

🎟️ Buy tickets: https://t.co/GahrKLMYoM pic.twitter.com/IL2LkXEZmk

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024

There’s only opportunity in the eyes of Smylie, who spent time with Smith at his home in Florida as a Cameron Smith Scholarship recipient in 2019.

Winner of the WA Open last month and currently third on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, Smylie made four birdies in his final seven holes on Saturday to match his idol’s two-round total of 10-under.

“What he’s done for Australian golf and what he continues to do, he’s been a great role model of mine for a very long time,” said Smylie.

“I’m really looking forward to battling it out with him tomorrow.”

Touted for big things from a young age, Smylie is adamant he won’t shy away from the prospect of playing in the final group to win one of Australian golf’s most celebrated championships.

“Definitely. That’s why I work hard,” he added. “It’s why I practise. It’s to put myself in these positions come Sunday.”

What a good looking leaderboard 🔥#AusPGA

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024

Yet to claim one of Australia’s two major championships, Leishman is trying to win for the first time since the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA TOUR.

Despite the drought, Leishman believes he is in the ideal position to pinch the win that was denied him six years ago.

“I’m enjoying my golf more than I ever have, just because I’m playing a little bit less and I can prepare for tournaments better,” said Leishman, who played his way into the final group with birdies at 15, 16 and 17.

“I’m just really enjoying playing less tournaments and being able to prepare for them and I’m playing better as well, which is helping.”

Young South African sensation Aldrich Potgieter (67) sent a shockwave through RQ when he raced out to a three-stroke lead courtesy of a front-nine of 6-under 30.

The 20-year-old who spent most of his teenage years in Perth dropped a shot on 10 and another on 18 to finish at 8-under and two strokes off the lead.

He will play with 2023 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner David Micheluzzi (67) for the third consecutive round, the pair joined by England’s Matthew Southgate (67).

Min Woo Lee’s title defence took a hit with a round of 1-over 72 while Jason Day will start the final round four strokes off the lead after a frustrating round of 2-under 69.

Cam Davis came closest to making a hole-in-one at the Dabble Party Hole, the excitement to carry into championship Sunday with Dabble ‘Dabbling down’ and giving fans the chance to share in $1 million for a hole-in-one during the broadcast time.

An eagle at the par-5 seventh was the highlight of Herbert’s 5-under 66 that catapulted him from outside the cut-line to within two of the lead as the afternoon groups teed off at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

His Ripper GC captain, Cameron Smith, made an early move with three birdies in his opening four holes as 20-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter assumed the front-runner position with four birdies of his own on the front nine.

If they maintain that pace it will make it hard for the likes of Herbert to make up ground in a third round that will be the tournament’s final after Friday’s play was washed out completely.

It is the first time in tournament history that a winner will be crowned after 54 holes, a format very familiar to Herbert, Smith and Marc Leishman since they joined LIV Golf.

Given the players who make the cut will have 18 holes to try and win the Joe Kirkwood Cup, Herbert believes the Ripper lads can claim some kind of advantage.

“It’s a decent change of mindset in a 54-hole event,” said Herbert.

“You play Thursday, six back, you’re not even really paying attention to it too much just because there’s so much golf to go. But, all of a sudden, you cancel the second round and now it’s like I’m six back with two rounds to go.

“It’s a different story.

“I knew I had to shoot a pretty low one today and probably play well tomorrow as well.

“It sounds easy but I think it just takes a bit of practise to get used to how aggressive to be in a three-round event.

“Yeah, there’s probably a little bit of an advantage for us.”

Smithy playing darts with the pin 🎯#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/xS4q6Bq5Ap

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024

An even par round in the rain on Thursday kept Herbert in the hunt and he took little time to get going on Saturday.

He birdied the par-4 12th after almost driving the green, made birdie at the par-5 15th and went to 3-under on his round with a birdie at the par-4 first.

A birdie on six was followed by an eagle at the par-5 seventh, the 28-year-old smarting after missing a short putt on his final hole, the par-5 ninth.

“It feels weird to sit here and complain about shooting 5-under, but here I am doing exactly what I just said is weird,” said Herbert, who won last week’s NSW Open.

“I’m in the tournament. Don’t know how far behind I’ll be behind come the end of the day, but I’m somewhere abouts.”

Photo: Scott Davis/PGA of Australia