LIVE BLOG: Elvis all smiles as he leads Aus PGA - PGA of Australia

LIVE BLOG: Elvis all smiles as he leads Aus PGA


A round of 6-under 65 has given Queenslander Elvis Smylie the early lead as the afternoon groups make the turn at the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.

Follow along live as we track their opening rounds and all the action from across the course.

Sanchez charges

Aussie Matias Sanchez storms home with 30 on his second nine to climb to a share of second, shooting a 5-under 66 in the worst of the conditions.

ROUND ONE LEADERBOARD

(in the clubhouse)

-6: Elvis Smylie (Qld)

-5: Joel Girrbach (Switzerland); Victor Perez (France); Matias Sanchez (Vic)

-4: Marc Leishman (Vic); Jason Day (Qld); Cam Smith (Qld); Aldrich Potgieter (Sth Africa); Jordan Smith (England); David Micheluzzi (Vic); Ben Eccles (Vic)

Perez ends up one back

A birdie putt on 18 slips by for Victor Perez and he finishes at -5, just one behind Elvis Smylie.

Davis and Herbert finish

Aussie duo Cam Davis and Lucas Herbert have ended their opening rounds. Davis locks in a 69 and Herbert a 71 after an off day with the putter.

Rainy afternoon heading towards its end
Steady rain has made a sodden course even heavier this afternoon. Best of the Aussies still out there is Matias Sanchez at -4, just two back. He’s picked up five shots in his last seven holes

Perez joins the lead

The Frenchman has joined Elvis Smylie on top of the leaderboard after birdies at 12 and 13. The Paris Olympian is bogey-free in the tougher conditions this afternoon.

Allez Victor
France’s Victor Perez is the only serious challenger to Elvis Smylie from the afternoon wave – at the moment anyway. One of the chief DP World Tour contenders this week is -4 through 10 and two shots back.

Star quotes

Elvis Smylie (-6): It’s a home game for me this week. I mean, I’m from the Gold Coast, it’s only an hour’s drive. I’ve played a lot of golf here. I’m quite familiar with the course and every part of my game’s really good at the moment. I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing.

Jason Day (-4): 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, but also as this tournament gets better with BMW. I played with (CEO) Wolfgang yesterday and he says that we’re going to slowly improve this tournament, which is fantastic. I think that’s what Australian golf needs, a big backer like BMW, and Rolex always brings just that little bit extra to a tournament and a good feel of that.

Cam Smith (-4): It was good (to play with Jason Day). It’s been a while since Jase has been home. I think we were probably both hoping for different conditions of the golf course, but you can’t help the weather. I’m sure Jase is looking forward to getting back to firm and fast Australia and it’s quite the opposite out there, so hopefully this rain can go away. The greens are actually still pretty firm, so yeah, hopefully by Sunday we get an Australian golf course.

The afternoon’s best

So far, it’s -2 leading the way in the afternoon groups. DP World Tour players Victor Perez, Ivan Cantero and Jonathan Goth-Rasmussen the top three, four from leader Elvis Smylie

A golden flashback

A much younger Cam Smith was perhaps the first Aussie golfer to hold an Olympic gold medal. Not his own but beach volleyball legend Nat Cook. They played together in the 2014 Australian PGA pro-am when this photo was taken. Keen golfer Nat was on course at RQ today following the Smith group.

New name near the top

Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach has posted a 67 to be one behind our leader Elvis Smylie.

How the super group finished

Cam Smith finished his round with four back nine birdies for his 4-under-par 67.
He found the green in two on the 545m par five seventh, his 16th hole of the day. The hole was playing downwind on the river breeze. A two-putt birdie was comfort.
It was a fine recovery after a few misfires on the front nine. Smith was smiling post-round, something he wasn’t doing 12 months ago when shooting 73-78 to miss the cut.

Jason Day (67) birdied the same seventh hole with a precise shot from the greenside bunker and a good putt. It was his fourth birdie of a round without a bogey.

Min Woo Lee made it three birdies for the group. His approach to the par five just drifted a little left of the pin, caught a slope and fed into the bunker. He’d shortsided himself but a good bunker shot gave him a birdie look which he duly took.
It was good repair work after back-to-back bogeys earlier on the back nine.
He signed for a 68 when that looked like being as high as he could possibly score after reaching -5 through 12 holes with two par fives still to play.

Tight at the top
There’s 23 players within three shots of the lead as we head towards midday. One of those at -3 is defending champion Min Woo Lee. Another is our Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia leader Jack Buchanan.

Our leaders are in the clubhouse

Elvis Smylie birdied the last for a round of 66 to be two shots clear of a group of seven players that includes some of our biggest drawcards – Jason Day, Cam Smith, Marc Leishman and Jordan Smith

Morning breeze

Out on course, you sense the Round 1 leaders will come from the early morning field as the wind starts to whip up on the holes closest to the river. Expect RQ to bare its teeth this afternoon.

Kitchen has cooled

Min Woo Lee has blazed his approach shot through the green on the par-4 14th, currently playing as the second-hardest hole on course. After a delicate chip to the raised green was left with 10 feet for par, which he missed to the right. That’s back-to-back bogeys from nowhere and now 3-under. He is not the only one to have dropped a shot in the last few moments, Potgieter and Harrison Crowe now joint leaders at 4-under with 14 players at 3-under-par.

Sticky situation

Given a ruling and a better lie from the mud and trees on his 14th hole, the par-4 fifth, Jason Day plays a fine shot. Still found the green side bunker but a neat sand shot and it’s par.

Tide turns

As Cam Smith makes yet another birdie, Min Woo Lee is unable to get up-and-down from a soggy greenside bunker on 4. The result is that we now have a six-way tie at the top of the leaderboard at 4-under and 15 players – including Smith – separated by a single shot.

The graduate

Currently 4-under par and tied for the lead, South African Aldrich Potgieter is headed to the PGA TOUR in 2025. At 20 years of age, he is the second-youngest graduate from the Korn Ferry Tour to advance to the PGA TOUR. The youngest? Jason Day.

Back to front

Momentum is a fickle thing in golf. Cam Smith’s issues on the front nine appear to have dissolved. He has made back-to-back birdies on the first and second holes – his 10th and 11th. As the breeze picks up, he has hit a superb tee shot into the par-3 fourth for another birdie chance.

Eagle alert!

New South Welshman Jordan Zunic has surged to within one-stroke of Min Woo’s lead with an eagle at the par-5 seventh. Zunic began his round with three straight birdies at one, two and three and is now 4-under through seven.

Cam turns it around

That’s more like the Cam Smith we know. Lasered iron to his 10th hole, the par 4 first, and sank an eight-footer for birdie. Pars for both Lee and Day.

Day break

As Cam Smith shows his frustration at coming up short and right of the green on 18, Day holes a birdie putt from outside 15 feet to join a group of six players at 3-under and just one back of Min Woo Lee and Freddy Schott.

Seafood, watch golf

If you want to elevate your BMW Aus PGA experience in 2024, Tillerman on 18 offers the best seafood in Brisbane, and you won’t miss any of the on-course action.

Turning first

First players are through nine holes at Royal Queensland, South African Aldrich Potgieter making four birdies in his past five holes playing the back nine to turn in 3-under 32. David Micheluzzi and Will Bruyeres also teed off on 10 and have headed to the front nine at 2-under 33.

Fan fare

Bundamba’s Toby Evers is all in as a Min Woozy fan. Home-made, one-off T-shirt.

Fun Freddy facts

Currently one shot off the lead, Freddy Schott was playing off scratch at the age of 13 and at 16 years of age, partnered DP World Tour legend Marcel Siem in Germany’s Golf-Bundesliga for their home club.

Party getting started

It’s early and overcast but the party is starting to build at the Dabble Party Hole. All three players in the feature group walk away with par.

Not so sweet 16

While Jason Day makes birdie to move to 2-under, it is a dropped shot for Cam Smith at the par-4 16th. Smith needed two chips to get up onto the putting surface after falling foul of the deep hollow in the middle of the green. Bunker off the tee, two chips and a bogey who drops back to even par.

Shot, Freddy

The DP World Tour players are showing an early liking to Royal Queensland. Germany’s Freddy Schott birdies the sixth hole to join Lee and Neergaard-Petersen at 3-under. Marc Leishman has birdied his last two holes and is one of five players at 2-under.

Cam Smith doing Cam Smith things

From the rough left side and 60m out on 15, Smith lasers a pinpoint wedge from wet grass to one metre to set up birdie.

Direct feed

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen working really hard for some TV time on 15th. One of just a few players not to make birdie early at the par 5.

The champ is here

Min Woo Lee is on a roll. That’s birdie on 13 now. His approach to two feet was superb. It is almost a tap-in to go to 3-under after just four holes.

Get to know Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen

For those unfamiliar with the Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen phenomenon, the Danish golfer won three times on the Challenge Tour this year. He has started his debut DP World Tour season with three straight birdies to be tied with Min Woo Lee at the top of the leaderboard.

Lions spotted at Royal Queensland

Mixed fortunes on 12

The driveable 292m 12th is a wonderful, beguiling challenge at RQ with so many ways to play it.
You can take driver, a fairway metal or play an iron short. Min Woo Lee nearly drives the green with a fairway wood, displaying his wonderful touch to play a bump-and-run to inside a metre. He holes the birdie putt to move to 2-under, tied at the top with German Freddy Schott and Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.

ICYMI

Both Smith and Day take driver off the tee at 12 and find the puddled trap right of the green. Smith seeks a ruling and can take a drop or rather place the ball on pure grass outside the bunker. That’s a break. He hits an exquisite chip to close range. Makes birdie and is back to even par. Deeper into the puddled trap, Day doesn’t want to risk a plugged ball with a drop. He plays from his original lie in the wet sand, catching his bunker shot a bit heavy. He has a long putt for birdie but must settle for par.

Order of Merit champion of two years ago, David Micheluzzi, jumps out to the early lead. With the honour of hitting the opening tee shot off the 10th tee, Micheluzzi has birdied the par-3 11th and par-4 12th to set a cracking early pace.

Min strikes first

Our first move… Min Woo Lee drains an eight-metre slider for birdie after a nice tee shot had fed left off the mid-green ridge. Day misses a shorter putt for his birdie while Smith misses his par save from nearly four feet and has to settle for bogey with a long strained look at the hole.

And we’re underway

Pars all around for Smith, Day and Lee at the par-4 10th. More than 400 fans were on hand flanking the fairway at 6:10am, Smith the only player with a genuine look at birdie. His putt from 10 metres came up just short as his playing partners both got up-and-down for pars.


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