Twenty-two-year-old veterans aren’t a thing. Yet as more accomplished players stumbled around him, Elvis Smylie stayed the course to claim the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
Itâs 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.
Heâd 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 didnât 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, Sundayâs 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 Smithâs 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.
âIt was close. I saw Mum crying before that last putt but I wanted to keep my bogey-free round going.â
The job wasnât 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.
âI knew that it wasnât going to be smooth sailing,â Smylie said of his first three years as a professional.
âEverything that has happened in my career so far, itâs been a blessing in disguise.
âIt was just my time. Everything that happened today happened for a reason.
âIâm a Christian and I believe in God and I knew that He was looking down on me today.
âEverything that happened today happened for a reason and it was my time today, definitely.â
When Cameron Smith awarded Elvis Smylie one of his coveted scholarships in 2019 it was to help the teenager along the way to achieving results like what happened at the BMW Australian PGA Championship on Sunday.
What the 2022 Open champion didnât 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.
Smylieâs bogey-free 67 to Smithâs 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.
âHelping Elvis out along the way is really cool,â Smith said.
âIt’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.
âYou 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.
âHe should enjoy this win, but also just keep working really hard because he’s still got a really long way to go.
âHe had such a great round, he putted unbelievable, and yeah, it was awesome to watch.â
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.
âHe 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.”
Min Woo Lee remains confident of being fully fit for an Australian Open assault after revealing a knee injury hobbled his title defence hopes at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
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.
âIt was just a freak accident,â said Lee.
âI literally just turned in bed and something popped.
âItâs getting a lot better, but I still canât bend down to read putts. I was half kneeling.
âThis is the first time Iâm telling anyone but itâs getting better and hopefully next week I can do that, but thatâs the reason why I canât bend down.
âI can fully swing a club at whatever miles per hour but I canât bend down, which is really astonishing. So itâs a good injury, I guess.â
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 weekâs ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
âItâs obviously amazing,â Lee added.
âTwo days, before seven oâclock and thereâs hundreds of people out here, which is amazing to see.
âIâm not anywhere near the lead and these guys are supporting me.
âEveryoneâs out there now and theyâre still waiting for me.
âItâs very special to have that support and thatâs a reason why I come back here and play.â
Photo: Dan Peled/PGA of Australia
The $1 million prize up for grabs on the Dabble Party Hole never went off but didnât the golfers and fans have fun urging a Saturday ace on the short 17th hole.
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 Englandâs Marco Penge bounced one by the flag to near point-blank putting range.
"If Scottsdale recreated that, that would be tremendous" đ
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024
HUGE review from @JDayGolf about the Dabble Party Hole at the 17th Hole 𼳠#AusPGA pic.twitter.com/Vz3m2PQIKY
How do we describe the party hole? Itâs like a separate event within the broader tournament.
Itâs 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: âI enjoy it. Itâs just good that people who might not otherwise go to the golf find it a really cool experience.
âI love that itâs a short par 3, too. And it was a makeable pin placement where guys were definitely scaring the hole (with their shots).â
That is the beauty of the 17th at RQ. Itâs 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 â as it did the tee shot of American Harry Higgs â who was close to hitting a pearler.
Higgs still finished the hole with a smile. One fan with a can shouted: âGreat to have you in Australia, brother.â
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: âMatty, you could nearly have bought Tasmania.â
Thatâs 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.
âI think the music is great, kind of drowns out the crowd, and I think Scottsdale just doesnât do it enough,â Day said.
âThat 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.â
The crowd loving Cam on the Dabble Party Hole đĽł@dabblecomau | #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/YUALp4OKoT
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024
Itâs 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, âLet The Sunshine In.â
It did, finally, and the crowd on the 17th loved it.
There will be a full house back for more on Sunday.
Cameron Smith will have to beat one of his best mates and a young charge he has personally mentored to clinch a fourth BMW Australian PGA Championship crown at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Only Germanyâs Jannik De Bruyn (63) bettered Smithâs 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 Smithâs 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.
âI think I got away with one there,â 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.
âLeish is still salty about that one. The old bounce off the grate. He brings it up a lot.
âHe still hasnât lived that one down, so I wonât be saying anything.
âThereâs probably a little bit of anger in his eyes.â
âIâd like to think this is my home eventâ â¤ď¸
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024
Cameron Smith wants to see all of Queensland out in the crowds at the @bmwau #AusPGA for tomorrow's final round âłď¸
đď¸ Buy tickets: https://t.co/GahrKLMYoM pic.twitter.com/IL2LkXEZmk
Thereâs 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 idolâs two-round total of 10-under.
âWhat heâs done for Australian golf and what he continues to do, heâs been a great role model of mine for a very long time,â said Smylie.
âIâm really looking forward to battling it out with him tomorrow.â
Touted for big things from a young age, Smylie is adamant he wonât shy away from the prospect of playing in the final group to win one of Australian golfâs most celebrated championships.
âDefinitely. Thatâs why I work hard,â he added. âItâs why I practise. Itâs to put myself in these positions come Sunday.â
What a good looking leaderboard đĽ#AusPGA
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 23, 2024
Yet to claim one of Australiaâs 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.
âIâm enjoying my golf more than I ever have, just because Iâm playing a little bit less and I can prepare for tournaments better,â said Leishman, who played his way into the final group with birdies at 15, 16 and 17.
âIâm just really enjoying playing less tournaments and being able to prepare for them and Iâm playing better as well, which is helping.â
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 Englandâs Matthew Southgate (67).
Min Woo Leeâs 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 âDabbling downâ and giving fans the chance to share in $1 million for a hole-in-one during the broadcast time.
David Micheluzzi has seen enough of Aldrich Potgieter to know heâs a real threat in the final round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship on Sunday.
Playing together in the opening two rounds at Royal Queensland on Thursday and Saturday, the Victorian and Perth-raised South African shot matching scores of 67-67 to sit in a share of fourth place at 8-under-par, two shots from the lead in the event co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour.
They will be paired together in the Sunday finale, both chasing the biggest professional titles of their career.
Playing as an invitee this week ahead of his debut on the PGA TOUR in 2025, Potgieter is looking to add to his Korn Ferry Tour win in The Bahamas in January.
Meanwhile, Micheluzzi, the 2022/23 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, is chasing his first DP World Tour title.
âHe hits it so far. Itâs just ridiculous,â Micheluzzi said of his playing partner.
âAnd you could see why he absolutely loves it in the States. He just sends it and not only that, itâs his control. His iron play, wedges, his short game, itâs complete.
âIâm more worried about him tomorrow. He can literally carry every bunker on the golf course and just hit short irons into the par-5s where Iâm hitting 3-woods.
âHis game is unbelievable and heâs a good kid too, which is more important.â
A junior member at Joondalup in Perth where he was coached by David Milne, Potgieter has loved being back home in Australia for this one-off appearance.
His time in WA included the state amateur title in 2021 before claiming the British Amateur at just 17 years of age.
âMilney and I are very close still to this day,â the 20-year-old said.
âHe’s out here supporting me, so it’s nice he’s got a few players out here, but I still talk to him, still stay in contact with him.â
As for his length, Potgieter has no thoughts of backing off in the final round.
âThere were a couple of tee shots today where it was pumping into the wind and I still could get over the (fairway bunkers),â he said.
âSo it’s nice and wide enough where I’m free to just hit the ball. It definitely helps mentally as well just to know that I can hit it, don’t have to stress where it’s going.â
He struggled to find the joy in the low round of the morning wave yet Lucas Herbert believes the shortened tournament could play into the hands of he and his Ripper GC teammates at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
An eagle at the par-5 seventh was the highlight of Herbertâs 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 tournamentâs final after Fridayâs 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.
âItâs a decent change of mindset in a 54-hole event,â said Herbert.
âYou play Thursday, six back, youâre not even really paying attention to it too much just because thereâs so much golf to go. But, all of a sudden, you cancel the second round and now itâs like Iâm six back with two rounds to go.
âItâs a different story.
âI knew I had to shoot a pretty low one today and probably play well tomorrow as well.
âIt 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.
âYeah, thereâs probably a little bit of an advantage for us.â
Smithy playing darts with the pin đŻ#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.
âIt feels weird to sit here and complain about shooting 5-under, but here I am doing exactly what I just said is weird,â said Herbert, who won last weekâs NSW Open.
âIâm in the tournament. Donât know how far behind Iâll be behind come the end of the day, but Iâm somewhere abouts.â
Photo: Scott Davis/PGA of Australia
The BMW Australian PGA Championship will now be a 54-hole tournament, with play abandoned before the start of Round 2 at 11:30am local time on Friday.
Almost 250mm of rainfall has fallen in the area around Royal Queensland Golf Club since last Friday, continuing heavy rain on Friday morning making it impossible for course staff to prepare the course for play.
âContinued downpours throughout the morning have left a number of fairways at Royal Queensland Golf Club saturated and the course has been deemed unplayable today,â said Jose Maria Zamora, the DP World Tour Tournament Director for the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
âWe plan to start the second round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at 6am on Saturday, with the third and final round on Sunday.
âWe want to ensure we are able to bring this incredible tournament to the planned conclusion on Sunday, mindful of the logistics of playing next weekâs ISPS HANDA Australian Open over two courses.â
It is the first time in the 95-year history of the Australian PGA Championship that it will be played over 54 holes, a championship that was a matchplay tournament until 1964.
General Manager of Tournaments & Global Tour Relationships, Nick Dastey, said that the inability of players to take casual relief from water on the fairways made the course unplayable on Friday.
âYou can obviously take relief from casual water, but if you havenât got anywhere to go, you canât get it,â said Dastey.
âYou need to be able to take full relief when taking relief from that casual water.
âAt the moment thatâs not possible and itâs highly unlikely to be possible at any stage today.
âHopefully by six oâclock tomorrow morning theyâre good.â
"We can't thank you enough. To get it in shape is massive, massive credit to them" đ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 21, 2024
The greenskeeper staff at Royal Queensland have done a fantastic job in keeping the course in great condition after having 133mm since Friday night âď¸#AusPGA | @DavidMicheluzzi pic.twitter.com/1Oxjuuc6fv
Elvis Smylieâs round of 6-under 65 was the best in Round 1, Frenchman Victor Perez, Chilean Christobal Del Solar and Victorian Matias Sanchez playing through the worst of the conditions on Thursday afternoon to join Switzerlandâs Joel Girrbach at 5-under and one off the lead.
Aussie pair David MIcheluzzi and Ben Eccles are among eight players tied for sixth at 4-under and spoke glowingly of the condition of the golf course for Round 1 given the amount of rain that had fallen.
âThe amount of rain weâve had since Saturday is just an absolute joke,â said Micheluzzi, the 2022/2023 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner.
âCredit to all the ground staff. I was speaking to one of the boys on the ground staff and Iâm just like, we canât thank you enough.
âI saw one of them put a photo on his Instagram story of this bunker that was just fully flooded. To get it in this shape is just a massive, massive credit to them.â
âTheyâre still rolling amazing,â added Eccles on the state of the putting surfaces.
âI just canât believe how good they are considering how much rain weâve had.
âItâs a massive credit to the team.â
He has aspirations to emulate his idols but Queenslander Elvis Smylie upstaged some of golfâs biggest stars to lead after day one of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
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 đ#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 â the par-5 ninth to edge one stroke clear.
âI hit a really good second shot, actually just flared a little bit into that green-side trap,â said Smylie.
âI 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.
âTechnically didnât touch the green and I made four, which is a good way to finish and lots of positives out of the day.
âItâs great having all the Aussies back home and supporting the Australian tournaments. And itâs great to compete against them because, ultimately, I want to be in their shoes and what theyâre doing in their career.â
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, Perezâs 5-under 66 could be considered the round of the day given the conditions he faced.
Victor Perez has entered the chat đŹ
— PGA of Australia (@PGAofAustralia) November 21, 2024
The Frenchman joins the equal lead at 6-under. #AusPGA pic.twitter.com/aaL8Hx62Ri
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.
âEverything seems to bother you a little bit more when youâre not playing as well, but I felt like I was hitting the ball nicely so I was able to just free flow and play,â said Perez.
âI think based on what I saw, we should get more of the good draw (tomorrow). I think thereâs some rain coming in the afternoon tomorrow, so itâd be nice to come out, put on a good round early and hopefully see the elements happen in the afternoon.â
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 dayâs heaviest rain to also post 5-under.
For BMW Australian PGA Championship tickets, go to ticketek.com.au
The Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queenslandâs Major Events Program and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Aldrich Potgieter plays golf under the South African flag, is bound for the PGA TOUR next year and is two shots back of Elvis Smylieâs first-round lead at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in something of a homecoming.
Born in Mossel Bay â like major champion Louis Oosthuizen â Potgieterâs 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-oldâs January triumph in the Bahamas part of run that has led him to the PGA TOUR, where he will test his game against the worldâs best following an extended period in Australia going toe-to-toe with his former countryâs 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,
âBogey on the first (10th hole) didn’t really help the round at all, but I knew there was a lot of opportunities out there during the day,â Potgieter said.
âWe were just trying to keep moving forward. Had three birdies in a row, had some momentum shift and just try to build off that.â
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.
âI was just over there (Western Australia) for a little visit for three weeks,â he said.
âAfter 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.â
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.
Potgieterâs 4-under round was equalled by both players in his match, as well as Day and Smith, while Leeâs title defence opened with a 3-under 68 to sit three shots back of Smylieâs 6-under mark that held up on a wet and soft Royal Queensland.
âLooking at the leaderboard, it’s pretty stacked up there,â Potgieter said.
âI 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.â
The BMW Australian PGA Championship is available live on Channel 9 and 9Now, as well as Fox Sports, available on Foxtel and Kayo.