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Elvis Smylie puts lefty golfers back on the map


You can rejoice at the Elvis Smylie victory at Royal Queensland in so many ways but putting leftys back on the map is certainly one of them.

Winning an Aussie “major” like the BMW Australian PGA Championship as a lefty is almost as rare as planting a flag on the moon.

How is it that Australia’s cricket team can field five left-handed batters in the Perth Test against India yet only today can we say the same number of left-handed golfers have won big Australian tournaments this century?

Once you tick off Greg Chalmers, Nick O’Hern, Nick Cullen, Richard Green and now Smylie, it’s bare.

That’s not downplaying the moments that Adam Bland and a few others have given us during tournaments, but right-handers have ruled.

In the past, equipment was a big issue. Pro shops didn’t even carry left-handed sets at times. Lefty clubs are now far more available.

The great David Graham was a lefty before his head professional at Riversdale Golf Club in Victoria convinced him to play right-handed as a young teen in the early 1960s. Two majors later, it was a very good move.

Smylie writes right-handed but he’s been a pure lefty since he first picked up cut-down golf sticks.

Just maybe, he’s part of a revolution. Matt McCarty was a new left-handed winner on the PGA TOUR only last month following Scotsman Robert MacIntyre wining the Canadian Open and Scottish Open earlier in the year.

Playing left-handed or right wasn’t the differentiating factor for Smylie at RQ. It was his composure, a calmness in hitting the right shots but also a calmness in picking the right one to hit at clutch moments.

He may be just 22 but he’s been tuning his mental game for years with help from the likes of Dr Michael Lloyd. He didn’t arrive on the first tee of the final round fearing a match-up against Cam Smith and Marc Leishman.

He relished it as the stage he’s always been working to be on.

Smylie opened birdie-birdie.

“I didn’t just want to show myself but the other guys I’m here to win the tournament. I wanted to put my foot through the door,” Smylie said.

We’ve all seen young players spooked on big stages when playing with the best.

Greg Norman was 21 when paired with the great Jack Nicklaus in the opening rounds of the 1976 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club.

Norman shot an opening round 80.

The heat came on Smylie sure enough. Take the driveable par-4 12th, one of RQ’s great holes because it tempts you to go for a Harrison Crowe-style eagle or play more conservatively.

Smylie was in the swale to the left of the green and opted firstly for a 46-degree wedge to bump it over the rise and on.

The ball didn’t get up the rise and came back into the valley. His 3-wood bump-and-run went nearly seven metres by.

He nervelessly sunk the putt for par. He made shorter clutch putts on the 14th and 15th to save pars to hold Smith at bay.

The value of that save on the 12th was rammed home when Smith chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th to delirious applause at the Dabble Party Hole.

Instead, of a one-stroke lead down the last, Smylie had the comfort of two.

“As soon as I holed that putt on the 12th, I thought, That could be pretty big,” Smylie explained with the Joe Kirkwood Cup in his hands.

Even on the last hole when he pulled his drive and was obstructed by a pine tree, he whipped a low iron shot into the greenside bunker.

He backed himself to make par… and did.

Leishman saluted the poise of Smylie’s bogey-free 4-under-par 67 on the final day.

“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.”

As Smylie hopes himself, this is just the start.

Photo: Dan Peled/PGA of Australia


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 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.”


Twenty-two-year-old Queenslander Elvis Smylie has stared down idol Cameron Smith to claim a life-changing victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

A Cameron Smith Scholarship winner in 2019, Smylie started the final round level with the three-time Joe Kirkwood Cup winner but never gave any indication that he would be overawed by the occasion.

Two birdies out of the blocks was the ideal way to settle into his round, the WA Open champion last month never worse than tied for the lead throughout the entirety of the round.

Birdies at six and seven maintained that forward momentum as the likes of Smith (69), Marc Leishman (69) and David Micheluzzi (69) struggled to keep pace.

Four crucial par saves on the back nine gave Smylie a buffer that didn’t shorten until Smith putted in from off the green at the Dabble Party Hole to reduce the margin to two.

Smylie missed his birdie chance from six feet to set-up an enthralling finish.

He and Smith both found the greenside trap with their approach shots, Smylie conjuring one final save to close out a round of 4-under 67 and a two-stroke win.

More to come

Photo: Dan Peled/PGA of Australia


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.

“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


The $1 million prize up for grabs on the Dabble Party Hole never went off but didn’t 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 England’s Marco Penge bounced one by the flag to near point-blank putting range.

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.”

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.


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 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.”

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.”

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.


David Micheluzzi has seen enough of Aldrich Potgieter to know he’s 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.

“He hits it so far. It’s just ridiculous,” Micheluzzi said of his playing partner.

“And you could see why he absolutely loves it in the States. He just sends it and not only that, it’s his control. His iron play, wedges, his short game, it’s complete.

“I’m 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 I’m hitting 3-woods.

“His game is unbelievable and he’s a good kid too, which is more important.”

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.

“Milney and I are very close still to this day,” the 20-year-old said.

“He’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.”

As for his length, Potgieter has no thoughts of backing off in the final round.

“There were a couple of tee shots today where it was pumping into the wind and I still could get over the (fairway bunkers),” he said.

“So 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.”


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 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.”

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


We’re into the back nine of the final day of the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship.

Down to 18

A Cam Smith chip in at the Party Hole and he’s now two back coming to the par-4 72nd hole after Elvis misses his birdie putt.

A cracker from Elvis
He’s knocked it to six feet on the Dabble Party Hole. Cam Smith over the back. No holes-in-one, no million dollars for the fans unfortunately

Two holes left
Elvis Smylie – a BMW ambassador – is three up on Anthony Quayle in the clubhouse and playing partner Cam Smith as he comes to the Dabble Party Hole on the final day of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

Jason’s day is done
Jason Day rolls in a birdie on 18 to post a 69. He’s currently T9 at -8.

Four to go for our leader
Elvis Smylie has a three-shot lead…..trying to win the biggest title of his career and take top spot on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.

Min Woo’s thoughts
The defending champion closed with a 66 to be just outside the top 10. Next up, the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

“Yeah, next week’s important, so I needed to find something. Just a bit of a happier start and finish to the round. But yeah, good stuff going into next week. Not much is wrong with the game. I just need to keep my head up high and keep playing good golf.”

“I actually hurt my (left) knee at the beginning of the week so I couldn’t bend down. I still don’t have the confidence to bend down. So that’s I think a reason why I was a little flat the first few days, which sucks. It was just a freak accident. I literally just turned in bed and something popped and then yeah, I just couldn’t really… It’s getting a lot better but I still can’t, I mean to read putts I can’t even bend down. I was half kneeling. This is the first time I’m telling anyone. But yeah, it’s getting better and hopefully next week I can do that. But the reason why I can’t bend down.”

Back nine on Sunday

So we’re in the back nine of the final day and Elvis Smylie has a three-shot lead over playing partner Cam Smith, David Micheluzzi one group ahead and Anthony Quayle who is in the clubhouse after a final day 63.

Cam Davis and Marc Leishman are four back

Score check

With two birdies and three pars Elvis Smylie has kept pace with Cameron Smith early in the final round. Smith bounced back from a bogey on four with a birdie on five to rejoin Smylie at 12-under. The pair are two-strokes clear of Marc Leishman (-1) with Spanish rookie Angel Ayora the first to post 9-under in the clubhouse after a round of 7-under 64.

Min-mania

Yeah, he’s a good ‘un.

Aussie, Aussie, Austrian!

He threatened to make a charge late on Saturday and now Lukas Nemecz is making himself known near the top of the leaderboard. He has made three straight birdies from the par-3 fourth and topped it off with an eagle at the par-5 seventh. The 35-year-old is now tied for third with Marc Leishman at 9-under and just one shot off the lead.

Wild about Harry

American Harry Higgs has proven to be a popular figure in his debut Down Under. He met some new fans before teeing off this morning and is tomorrow bound for Melbourne to play the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.

Party starters

Our final group is about to tee off but the party has already started at the Dabble Party Hole. And for good reason as the $1 million hole-in-one for fans is on again for Championship Sunday. Fans who are on course and who register using the QR code will share in $1 million should any player have a hole-in-one during the broadcast window.

Potgieter puts foot down

There’s no slowing down South African Aldrich Potgieter. A junior at Joondalup in Perth, Potgieter birdied both par 5s to close out a front nine of 6-under 30 and 10-under total. He now leads by three shots from Englishman Matthew Southgate (67) and Cameron Smith.

Birdies aplenty on 17

The million dollars hasn’t gone off yet but it’s not for want of trying. Playing in the same group, Rod Pampling and Ben Eccles both made birdie, Pampling from five feet and Eccles from three feet, Eccles stopping to sign autographs for fans on his way to 18.

Party has officially started

Players are firing at pins, music is pumping and the stands are filling up at the Dabble Party Hole. Those who are on site and register will share in $1 million if any player makes a hole-in-one during the television broadcast.

Invitation accepted

WA golf types have no qualms claiming him as one of their own and now Aldrich Potgieter is making good use of his tournament invitation.

The South African, who lived in Perth between the ages of eight and 17, has made five straight 3s to start Round 2. Four of those have been birdies to move to the outright lead at 8-under par, one clear of Cameron Smith.

It has been a blistering start too for Smith, the three-time Joe Kirkwood Cup winner with three birdies in his opening four holes.

Big names converge on 17

All the big names want to be at the Dabble Party Hole this afternoon.

A million reasons

You’re going to want to be at the Dabble Party Hole this afternoon. With fans to share in a million dollars for a hole-in-one during the broadcast window, players are peppering the flags. Kiwi lefty Sam Jones just hit it tight to 12 inches and in the following group, Tasmanian Simon Hawkes has done similar to 16 inches. This 125m of party fun is getting LOUDER.

Eagle alert!

Lucas Herbert has entered the chat. After a birdie on six the NSW Open champion has made eagle on seven and now trails leader Matthew Southgate by two.

New name on top

A fourth consecutive birdie and Matthew Southgate is the outright leader at 7-under-par. Southgate has limited status on the DP World Tour this season after failing to keep his card and finishing 54th at Final Stage of Q School. A win at RQ could fix that.

Southgate heading north

Three straight birdies and Englishman Matthew Southgate has a share of the lead. Three-under at the start of the day’s play, Southgate opened with five straight pars but has gotten hot as he approaches the turn to join Elvis Smylie at 6-under. There is currently a four-way tie for third between Victorian Matias Sanchez, Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia, Spaniard Ivan Cantero and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, all at 5-under.

Tapio pulling in right direction

Playing his first DP World Tour event since getting his card back via the Challenge Tour this year, Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen has played the front nine in 2-under to draw within two of the lead. Pulkkanen represented Finland at the Paris Olympics in August where he finished tied for 35th.

“I haven’t played a Major yet, so it was great to test myself against the best players in the world and they were so impressive. I was able to see how they approach the game on and off the course and it is always helpful to be in that environment.”

Tapio Pulkkanen (FIN) during Round 2 of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland golf course in Brisbane, November 23, 2024. Photo: Dan Peled

Todd’s wild ride

Englishman Todd Clements played the back nine in 2-under this morning. It consisted of three bogeys, an eagle, three birdies and two pars, such as this one on 18. Proving once again there is more than one way to shoot 2-under.

Pack mentality

This leaderboard is a bigger logjam than a beaver building convention. With the afternoon groups 2.5 hours from teeing off, there are currently 37 players within three shots of leader Elvis Smylie’s score of 6-under-par.

Cutting edge

Spain’s Ivan Cantero is playing his 27th event of the year and has missed 17 cuts. After birdie at the par-4 sixth he has moved to 5-under and is now in a share of second just one shot off the lead. His best finish on the DP World Tour is a tie for third at the ISPS HANDA Championship in Japan in April and he finished 99th on the Race to Dubai Ranking to keep his card for 2025.

You’re telling us there’s a chance

We might be in for something special later this afternoon if Cam Davis’s tee shot at the Dabble Party Hole is anything to go by. The two-time PGA TOUR winner had the crowd on its feet with a shot to just six inches. If anyone can do better than that and make a hole-in-one during the TV broadcast window from 11am local time, fans who register will share in $1 million.

Here come the Kiwis

The super group might tee off at 11:10am but there is one group going super this morning. Kiwi pair Daniel Hillier (-3, pictured) and reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner Kazuma Kobori (-2) have climbed into a tie for third, two strokes back of Elvis Smylie. Starting from the 10th tee, Hillier had three birdies in his first four holes while Kobori gave the Dabble Party Hole an early injection of energy with a birdie on 17.

Tempting 12th under attack

It’s an all-out assault on the short 12th today. Jake McLeod (below) has made birdie after taking 3-wood off the tee while Matthew Griffin had an eagle putt from inside three metres after driving the green. The Victorian had to settle for a two-putt birdie but is now in red figures at 1-under.

Get to know… Cristobal Del Solar

As he begins his second round at 5-under and tied for second, here are some things you may not know about Chilean Cristobal Del Solar:
– He owns the record for lowest round ever recorded in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event. Del Solar shot 13-under 57 in Round 1 of the Astara Golf Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in February. He made the turn in 8-under 27, tying the low nine-hole score in Korn Ferry Tour history.
– He wrapped up a 2025 PGA TOUR card with a win at The Ascendant in July.
– He joins Benjamin Alvarado Mito Pereira as one of three Chileans to earn a PGA TOUR card through the Korn Ferry Tour.

Herbie goes bang

An aggressive play off the tee at the beguiling par-4 12th sets up birdie for Lucas Herbert to move to 1-under for the tournament. As Davis and Perez both make par, Herbert’s bold play at the 292-metre tempter leaves him a chip which he stumps to a foot for a settling birdie early.

Right where he left off

Solid start from Victorian Matias Sanchez who opens with consecutive pars. It was on the front nine on Thursday in the worst of the conditions where he made his move, playing the front nine in an extraordinary 6-under 30. Sanchez is another of the young brigade making their name on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, finishing tied for ninth at the WA PGA Championship and fourth at the WA Open.

Perez drops back

After a day of waiting, the 443-metre par-4 10th is the toughest way to resume your championship. In the marquee morning group, Cam Davis recovers from a wayward tee shot to make par but Victor Perez drops a shot after finding the greenside trap with his approach shot and is unable to make par.

The news doesn’t get any better at the par-3 11th. After missing the green right with his tee shot, he played a sound chip to four feet but misses the putt for par. That’s a sour bogey-bogey start to drop to 3-under.

Kiwi Daniel Hillier is the early mover on course, two birdies in his opening three holes and he joins the logjam at 3-under and just three shots off the lead.

Super Saturday

Kids Day activations, 156 players on course, a BMW up for grabs for a hole-in-one and a Dabble Million Dollar Hole-in-One at the Party Hole to be shared amongst the fans who register… It’s a Super Saturday all right.

The marquee group of Victor Perez, Lucas Herbert and Cam Davis are about to tee off on 10 and, later this morning, Cameron Smith, Jason Day and Min Woo Lee will be back out on course, teeing off at 11:10am local time on the first tee.

It feels like it has been a long time coming but let’s play some golf!


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.

“Continued downpours throughout the morning have left a number of fairways at Royal Queensland Golf Club saturated and the course has been deemed unplayable today,” said Jose Maria Zamora, the DP World Tour Tournament Director for the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

“We plan to start the second round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship at 6am on Saturday, with the third and final round on Sunday.

“We want to ensure we are able to bring this incredible tournament to the planned conclusion on Sunday, mindful of the logistics of playing next week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open over two courses.”

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.

“You can obviously take relief from casual water, but if you haven’t got anywhere to go, you can’t get it,” said Dastey.

“You need to be able to take full relief when taking relief from that casual water.

“At the moment that’s not possible and it’s highly unlikely to be possible at any stage today.

“Hopefully by six o’clock tomorrow morning they’re good.”

Elvis Smylie’s 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 Switzerland’s 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.

“The amount of rain we’ve had since Saturday is just an absolute joke,” said Micheluzzi, the 2022/2023 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner.

“Credit to all the ground staff. I was speaking to one of the boys on the ground staff and I’m just like, we can’t thank you enough.

“I 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.”

“They’re still rolling amazing,” added Eccles on the state of the putting surfaces.

“I just can’t believe how good they are considering how much rain we’ve had.

“It’s a massive credit to the team.”


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