Elvis Smylie is steeled for a European tour return after staring down Cameron Smith at his pet event to win the Australian PGA Championship.
The 22-year-old from the Gold Coast, son of former tennis star Liz Smylie, produced a string of clutch par saves and dodged Smith’s last desperate swings in a bogey-free Sunday at Royal Queensland.
His 14-under total (65, 67, 67) left him two clear of three-time winner Smith (67, 65, 69), who was level with Smylie to begin Sunday but again stuttered on the final day after blowing a final-round lead at the NSW Open last weekend.
Left-hander Smylie was a prodigious amateur who struggled in his smattering of 2019 European tour invites before COVID-19 hit.
The left-hander has since overhauled his team and technique and found joy with a breakthrough victory at last month’s WA Open.
Smylie will now get a fully-fledged crack in Europe, his $323,000 winner’s cheque coming with a two-year exemption on the DP World Tour.
“It’s life changing for me and I can’t wait to get started,” he said.
“A couple of plans might have changed, compared to this morning.”
Smylie and Smith traded birdies to begin their rounds but it was the protege – Smylie won former world No.2 Smith’s scholarship in 2019 – who produced down the stretch.
He concocted four gutsy par saves despite missing fairways and greens to move four clear of Smith with four to play.
LIV Golf star Smith was more erratic, taking relief when he found the mangroves on the ninth and then missing a par putt after finding trees again on the 14th.
Four shots behind with four to play, Smith kept swinging to birdie the 15th and brilliantly chip-in from behind the 17th party hole green getting him within two shots with one hole to play.
A wayward drive meant Smylie had to curl his second shot from behind a tree, but he kept his cool again to get up and down from the greenside bunker to ice the win.
“I started chuckling to myself … it was such a Cam thing to do,” Smylie said of Smith’s chip-in.
Smith chuckled that he’d been the master of his own demise after hosting Smylie at his US home five years ago as part of a scholarship he established to give young Australian talents “someone to talk to”.
“It’s cool to see,” Smith wryly smiled of his protege upstaging him.
“I didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”
Smylie had a one-shot lead after the first round before rain scrapped all play on Friday and the event was reduced to a 54-hole spectacle.
Smith was on song when he carded a six-under 65 on Saturday but Smylie rallied to ensure they shared the lead overnight.
Anthony Quayle came from the clouds with a final-round 63 to finish third at 11 under alongside Marc Leishman, who added another top-five finish thanks to a round of 69 full of near misses.
David Micheluzzi, who just finished his maiden European tour and showered Smylie in water on the 18th green, finished fifth at 10 under.
Jason Day (69) loomed before a double bogey on the 14th – only his third dropped shots for the tournament – was at eight under and equal eighth in his first Australian event in seven years.
Defending champion Min Woo Lee almost missed the cut and complained of a sore knee from a “freak” accident but rallied with a five-under 66 to finish a shot further back from Day.
