WHEN Elvis Smylie scored his breakthrough victory in the Western Australian Open just over a year ago, his immediate goal was modest enough – to finish in the top three on the Aussie circuit and earn status on the DP World Tour.
That objective was achieved just a few weeks later when the Gold Coast leftie outgunned Cameron Smith to record a stunning upset in the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
He’ll soon be back to defend his title at Royal Queensland, this time with all the confidence of an established international player and with far loftier ambitions on his mind – primarily, to win his way onto the lucrative US PGA Tour.
And he’s so close.
The top 10 golfers at the conclusion of the Race to Dubai – the DP World Tour’s Order of Merit – who aren’t already members of the US PGA Tour will earn a card to play on the world’s biggest stage.
“I was looking at the Race To Dubai standings the other day,” Smylie said. “It had that PGA symbol next to my name, which is really cool to see.
“It’s given me the green light that it’s in sight and it’s very motivating to know that it’s within reach, though there’s a lot of good golf to be played, and I’m not getting ahead of myself.”
That’s been 23-year-old Smylie’s approach throughout the year – to prepare meticulously for each event, accept the outcome whatever it may be, learn from the experience and become a better player, and person, in the process.
It has been a fabulously successful year for Smylie, beginning with his win in the BMW Australian PGA, an event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which brought with it membership of the circuit formerly known as the European Tour.
He’s won about $1.7 million and performed consistently well – tied fifth in the 2024 Australian Open, 14th in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, 15th in the China Open, 16th in the Hainan Classic, sixth in the Danish Open, and an agonisingly close second to American Michael Kim in September’s French Open.
Typically, Smylie made no excuses for that cruel defeat. “I left everything out there,” he said. “I had a bogey-free final round of six-under. If you’d told me I’d shoot that at the start of play I’d have taken it. I played great; didn’t put a foot wrong. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Nor was he surprised at his performance.
“I was really determined that week to take the next step and really contend,” he said. “I feel I belong out there and my game is certainly good enough to win. It’s nice to take that next step. I came close to winning and I know my best golf is just around the corner.”
Smylie described his first year on tour as ‘an eye-opener.’
“I never knew what the experience was going to be like,” he said. “You try to prepare mentally and physically for each event, but you can’t really plan for everything – nobody tells you about being in China and having to use Google Translate.
“Or what you do when you get really bad sinus and an ear infection and have to check yourself into an Austrian hospital, as I did a couple of months ago. I’ve got so many travel stories I could write a book about it.”
Smylie says the experiences have made him tougher and stronger.
“I think that’s the beauty of professional golf,” he said. “It’s not easy and it’s not going to be smooth sailing all the way. There are bumps in the road. It’s how you handle it that’s important. You come out the other side all the better for it – become a better person.”
Smylie says he’s lucky to have good friends with whom to share the journey, and he lists fellow Australian professionals David Micheluzzi, Jason Scrivener, and Kiwis Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori.
“If you didn’t have people to hang out with and travel with it would be a lot lonelier than people think it is,” he said. “When you’re away from home and family it definitely helps a lot.”
Smylie played the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in early October before returning briefly to Australia for a short break, then returned to the DP World Tour in South Korea in the last week of October.
His sights are now on the season-ending Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship this month – events which will determine the winner of the Race To Dubai and decide the 10 newcomers to the US PGA Tour.
He’s looking forward to returning to Royal Queensland later this month and competing in a tournament he describes as being very special.
“Winning last year, in front of my home Queensland crowd and battling down the stretch with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman – that was rent-free in my mind, and something I always come back to.
“I have an awesome opportunity to compete in two great tournaments on two great courses, in front of great Aussie crowds – it’s a special way to end the year.”
Smylie plans to play in the Cathedral Invitational outside Melbourne before a month’s break. He’ll begin his 2026 campaign in mid-January – either at the Dubai Desert Classic or in Hawaii, if that card on the US PGA Tour heads his way.
His goals for next year? To play in as many major championships as he can, perhaps be selected in the International team for the President’s Cup, and to put himself into a position to win many more tournaments.
International stars Queensland bound
JOAQUIN Niemann headlines the latest batch of players to be confirmed starters for the 2025 BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.
Niemann, the 2023 Australian Open champion and a seven-time winner on LIV since joining the breakaway tour, will be joined by three internationally acclaimed players in Carlos Ortiz, Sebastián Muñoz, and Josele Ballester.
Ortiz, from Mexico, and Munoz, from Colombia, are previous winners on the PGA TOUR, and current teammates of Niemann’s on Torque GC team on the LIV Golf Tour, where both have celebrated individual tournament victories and team success.
With International Series victories in Oman and Macau in the past 18 months, Ortiz was the first Mexican-born player in 42 years to win on the PGA TOUR when he claimed the 2020 Houston Open. He also had his best finish in a major championship when he tied for fourth at this year’s US Open at Oakmont.
Fellow LIV Tour member Muñoz claimed his PGA TOUR title at the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2019, before beating Jon Rahm in playoff in August to win LIV Golf Indianapolis.
As for Spaniard Ballester, the 2024 US Amateur champion is considered one of the best young prospects in world golf. The 22-year-old Ballester finished in a tie for second in just his fifth LIV start, losing in a playoff in Chicago in August.
Their involvement will add considerable strength a stellar field for the November 27-30 event, joining the likes of Adam Scott, Cam Smith, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis, Marc Leishman, 2018 Australian Open winner Abraham Ancer and defending PGA champion Elvis Smylie.
