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

Born in Mossel Bay – like major champion Louis Oosthuizen – Potgieter’s family moved to Western Australia when he was eight-years-old, before returning to South Africa when Aldrich was 17.

Potgieter claiming The Amateur Championship at the same age to become the second youngest winner, before turning professional in 2023 and becoming the youngest ever winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this year.

The now 20-year-old’s January triumph in the Bahamas part of run that has led him to the PGA TOUR, where he will test his game against the world’s best following an extended period in Australia going toe-to-toe with his former country’s top stars.

Potgieter opening his account at Royal Queensland on Thursday with a 4-under 67 that included a run of five birdies in seven holes,

“Bogey on the first (10^th hole) didn’t really help the round at all, but I knew there was a lot of opportunities out there during the day,” Potgieter said.

“We were just trying to keep moving forward. Had three birdies in a row, had some momentum shift and just try to build off that.”

Unable to convert more chances late in his round, including at the two par-5s in the closing stages of his back nine, Potgieter is making his first start in what was once his homeland since the 2022 WA Open after reacclimatising himself with Australian golf in recent weeks.

“I was just over there (Western Australia) for a little visit for three weeks,” he said.

“After the Playoffs on the Korn Ferry in America, decided to come back to Perth for a little while … the whole family came over to go see some friends, so it’s been nice.”

Included in those friends was Min Woo Lee, with the pair reuniting by teeing it up at Lake Karrinyup when both spending time in Perth following busy seasons and ahead of the local Summer of Golf.

The pair were in close proximity again on Thursday when Potgieter played alongside David Micheluzzi and Englishman Jordan Smith one group in front of the supergroup comprising Lee, Cam Smith and Jason Day.

Potgieter’s 4-under round was equalled by both players in his match, as well as Day and Smith, while Lee’s title defence opened with a 3-under 68 to sit three shots back of Smylie’s 6-under mark that held up on a wet and soft Royal Queensland.

“Looking at the leaderboard, it’s pretty stacked up there,” Potgieter said.

“I know some of them pretty well. I know Min decently well and he’s a good player. It’s nice to connect with those bigger names. But yeah, we’ll see three more days, see where they finish up.”

The BMW Australian PGA Championship is available live on Channel 9 and 9Now, as well as Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.

Whenever you throw a “Supergroup” tag on three golfers, you always know deep down there is one with more superstar lustre than the others.

On a rare occasion, it never played out that way in the opening round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club on Thursday.

All offered magnetic highlights as they harvested 16 birdies in all to keep fans cheering impartially.

The gallery swelled to more than 1,500 during the march of Day (67), 2022 British Open champion Cameron Smith (67) and defending Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee (68).

At times, it was like watching the one composite golfer you imagined the trio could blend into becoming with a little DNA engineering.

When Lee smote his opening drive 30 metres past his playing partners you instantly wanted his driver game.

When he lasered short irons or bump-and-runs to close range during his three birdies through the opening four holes, you wanted to copy that momentum gear of his.

When Smith fashioned his two front nine birdies with exquisite chip shots, you again wanted to plug that trait into your dream golfer.

Then there was Day. He was the one nailing the longer birdie putts and staying composed throughout without a bogey on his card.

It was just good to see him at close range on a course in his home state again.

We love seeing you home @JDayGolf 🇦🇺🤝#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/OlNGtfTJUU

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

He hadn’t played at RQ since before the second span of the Gateway Bridge was opened. That’s pre-2010. Is it that long?

He dived into two meat pies from a local bakery before 8am when he landed in Brisbane this week. Too long, he joked.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here, so wasn’t not too sure how things would unfold,” Day commented post-round.

“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.”

Now 37, his last Queensland appearance was a joint ninth at the Australian PGA at the then-Hyatt Coolum in the week after the 2011 Presidents Cup.

If you are a golf fan, you want to see shots you can never dream of. OK, Lee smoting the ball a ridiculous distance down the 18th fairway is sort of standard brilliance for him.

One fan, Bundamba’s Toby Evers, made his support obvious. He’d made his own MinWoozy T-shirt with “ball speed of 9000” on the back.

If we are talking elite shots, it’s also Day being stuck right off the tee in the trees and mud on his 14th hole, the par-4 fifth.

Given a ruling and a better lie, Day punched a low bullet from the mud into the greenside bunker. As easy as you like, he flipped a shot from the firm sand to close range. Par. Nods of appreciation everywhere.

Scorecards always do a serious disservice to pars. Some of the best golf a pro plays is to salvage par from such precarious situations.

You hear quirky background stories years later in many cases. Day told the PGA Awards dinner earlier in the week that he didn’t touch a can of Coke for two years around that period he became world No.1.

Cam Smith out here doing Cam Smith things.

Brilliant pitch from 60 metres out sets up birdie at 15 and the three-time champ is in red figures.#AusPGA | @bmwau | @visitbrisbane pic.twitter.com/vffIjzBWhX

— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 20, 2024

We’re hearing Smith’s diligent approach to this summer and 2025 has some similar hallmarks of discipline.

The definition of “Supergroup” spawned from the music industry when stars already with fame as solo artists came together.

You know, the Traveling Wilburys type of thing in the late 1980s when Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty came together.

Golf has had its fair share at big Aussie tournaments since the halcyon days of the late 1970s and ‘80s when Jack Nicklaus and a young Greg Norman might be paired at an Australian Open or a Nick Faldo or Seve Ballesteros came out for a big event.

Day has been in plenty himself. In 2011, it was hard not to follow the Day-Tiger Woods-Robert Allenby group for the opening two rounds of the Australian Open at The Lakes.

In 2013 at Royal Sydney, Adam Scott shot a glorious course record 62 beside Day and American Kevin Streelman at the Australian Open.

For riveting two-balls, few have been bigger than the Scott v Rickie Fowler final group showdown for the 2013 Australian PGA at Royal Pines when the Australian was fresh off his drought-breaking Masters triumph.

It’s funny. Tournament organisers grapple with a conundrum every time they calculate who to pair in the opening two rounds.

You can split stars so one is the glow for the morning field and the other is the magnet for afternoon audiences.

You then run the risk of 2014. Organisers didn’t pair Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy for the opening two rounds at the Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club. The two marquee players didn’t play together at all in that event.

Australian PGA organisers bit the bullet a few years ago and played their trumps up front with a Scott-Smith pairing first thing on Thursday’s opening morning so they were the guaranteed TV talent on Friday afternoon’s broadcast.

Those who got up early in Brisbane for the 6:10am tee time enjoyed the same treat with Day, Smith and Lee together.

There’s every chance we’ll be hearing a lot more from one of them by Sunday afternoon.

Day will tee off alongside Cameron Smith and defending champion Min Woo Lee from the 10th tee at 6:10am on Thursday morning, his first competitive round on Australian soil since the 2017 Australian Open.

It is his first Australian PGA Championship since he finished tied for ninth at Coolum in 2011, the 37-year-old spending the past three days reacquainting himself with a Royal Queensland layout that has changed significantly in that time.

At No.31 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Day is the highest-ranked player in the field but knows he may not be No.1 amongst Queensland golf fans when the tournament begins.

“Obviously Cammy is a very big favourite being here and obviously got a lot of fans here,” Day said of the three-time Australian PGA champion.

“Even though I’m from here, it’s kind of hard to get the fan base when I haven’t been here as much.

“I’m looking forward to playing with Min, looking forward to playing with Cam.

“I’m really interested to see the crowds out there, seeing how many people will come out. Fingers crossed we have good weather. I know that rain is not ideal, but we’re going to have really good weather on the weekend and that should be fun. That should bring out a lot of people.”

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With five children and a base in Ohio that he has held for more than 15 years, playing in his home country while competing on the PGA TOUR has been a constant to-and-fro.

He was close to returning 12 months ago but chose to stay in the US after wife Ellie gave birth to their fifth child, Winnie, in September.

Already on this trip he has spent time with his sisters for the first time since the passing of his mother, Dening, in March 2022 and reacquainted himself with meat pies from a bakery in Forest Lake west of Brisbane.

It is a taste of home that he intends to sample more regularly.

“Me being healthy and being able to bring my family down, that’s something that I want to do. To be able to come back a little bit more,” said Day.

“I would love to do that. My family has never been to Australia. I’d love to bring them down.

“The last time I played Royal Queensland was when we had I think one bridge and we literally had the golf course on the other side of the bridge, so it has been a while.

“What Cam Smith has done so well, he’s supported Australian golf since he’s turned professional, especially here in Brisbane and he’s done a wonderful job. Same with Adam Scott.

“It’s nice to see the guys come back.”

While this visit has been seven years in the making, it is something of a hit-and-run mission for the 2015 US PGA champion.

He was one of the first on course on Monday to kick-start his preparations, meticulously plotting a first major Australian victory that would allow him to join some of golf’s global stars to have had success in Australia.

“I know that I’ve always wanted to win in Australia,” he added.

“I’ve seen Jordan Spieth come down here, Rory (McIlroy) come down here and obviously they’re playing the Australian Open and winning the Australian Open. They’ve accomplished that and it’d be nice for me to be able to do that, especially here in Brisbane where part of my life I grew up, and especially at a place like Royal Queensland, very iconic.

“I grew up playing some tournaments here. It’s always nice to be able to win a tournament regardless of where you go, but to be able to win one on home soil and to know that you can come back and win one, that would be special.”

Fresh if not slightly sore from Sunday night’s celebrations in Bendigo after his NSW Open triumph at Murray Downs Golf and Country Club, Herbert arrives at Royal Queensland Golf Club second on the Order of Merit.

The 28-year-old will play this week, next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open and the Webex Players Series Murray River event early in the new year.

Four events will qualify Herbert for the Order of Merit and all the trappings that come with a top-three finish, not least of which is an exemption into The Open Championship for the Order of Merit winner.

The past two Order of Merit winners – David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori – have also received exemptions into the US PGA Championship, going halfway towards Herbert’s goal of playing more major championships.

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Now an integral member of Cameron Smith’s Ripper GC team on LIV Golf, Herbert played just one major in 2024 – the US PGA – and sees his home tour as a legitimate pathway to playing more of the game’s showpiece events.

“I think I’ve got a really good opportunity to finish a long way up in that Order of Merit and reap the benefits that come from that,” said Herbert, who has been grouped with French star Victor Perez and fellow PGA TOUR winner Cam Davis for rounds one and two at RQ.

“It’s just a long way to go, only one event in. Just got to focus on my stuff and playing well, and I think the rest will probably take care of itself.

“That is the advantage of coming back and playing in Australia. We have some good pathways through the Australian tour to get to some of these bigger events, bigger tours.

“Hopefully it all goes well and it’s something that I can use.”

Fuelled by the response from the response that Adam Scott, Jason Day and Smith have received from Australian fans after major championship success, Herbert knows the impact playing well in majors has on the game at home.

He emerged as the emotional lightning rod in Ripper GC’s team championship win this year, his love of the arena encapsulated with a new nickname of ‘Gladiator’.

The Victorian took the bit between the teeth in difficult conditions to run down Smith a week ago and wants to influence the game in the way other Australian major champions have done.

“The impact of playing in those major championships – winning them, playing well – ultimately had a big impact on Australian golf,” said Herbert.

“I look at the impact Cam’s had from winning The Open Championship in 2022. It feels like golf has not been in a position this good in a long time.

“We’ve got so many people playing the game. You look at events like LIV Adelaide last year with how many people are there. You look at the buzz around these two weeks, how much it means in Australia.

“I look at driving ranges around the country, they’re all packed at various random times throughout the day. It seems like golf is thriving incredibly in Australia and us playing well in those major championships ultimately has that impact on Australia.”