Victor Perez and Joel Girrbach are one shot off local favourite Elvis Smylie’s lead after round one of the BMW Australian PGA Championship, the opening event of the 2025 Race to Dubai, while Gary Hurley, the sole Irishman in the field, has lots of ground to make up if he’s to make the cut.
The Waterford man who recently missed out at DP World Tour Q-School and is playing based off status as a 2023-season card holder carded 15 pars and three bogeys at a rain-soaked Royal Queensland Golf Club. His three-over 74 leaves him tied for 130th and four shots off the provisional cutline, meaning he has to shoot a low score on day two if he’s to see weekend action.
Frenchman Perez and Girrbach of Switzerland sit alongside another Australian in Matias Sanchez and Cristobal Del Solar of Chile at five under par after Gold Coast-native Smylie produced a brilliant round of 65 to top the leaderboard.
The 22-year-old, who won his first Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title in October, carded eight birdies and two bogies to set the daunting clubhouse target at six under par, wrapping up with a hole out from the bunker at the ninth – his last.
Rolex Series winner Perez had matched his total through 13 holes as the downpours intensified in the afternoon, but a bogey at the 15th saw the Frenchman slip back to finish alongside Girrbach, Sanchez and Del Solar in Brisbane.
Smylie has sporting genes through his parents Liz and Peter – former professional tennis players who were mixed doubles partners at the 1983 French Open – and he outshone a plethora of Australian stars in the event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
“It’s a home game for me this week,” said Smylie. “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. The greens are amazing considering after all the rain, so kudos to the greenkeepers. And Duane, my caddie, we’re working really well together and really excited for the next few days.
“I think you try to just keep the levels the same compared to what every other tournament is, but it’s a little bit tricky when you know that it’s a bigger tournament.
“It’s great having all the Aussies back home and supporting the Australian tournaments. And it’s great to compete against them because ultimately I want to be in their shoes and do what they’re doing in their career. It’s great for me to be able to compare my game against theirs and see what areas I need to improve on.”
Jason Day is amongst a group of five Australians at four under, including fellow Major winner Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Ben Eccles and David Micheluzzi, who had the honour of hitting the opening tee shot of the campaign after earning his DP World Tour card through the 2022/23 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and going on to enjoy an impressive rookie season in 2024.
Two-time DP World Tour winner Jordan Smith, Ivan Cantero of Spain and South African Aldrich Potgieter also joined the group at four under, with defending champion Min Woo Lee and European Challenge Tour Number One Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen among a group of 18 players at three under.
Leave a comment