Cameron Smith and Jason Day (-4) made stunning late charges to put themselves in the mix on the first day of the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, but it is the son of a former Australian tennis great who leads the way in Brisbane at -6.
Elvis Smylie, son of former world number 20 tennis player Liz Smylie, miraculously made birdie at his last hole of day – the par 5 ninth – after fatting a bunker shot into another green side bunker before holing the next shot to snatch the solo lead, one shot clear of Swiss player Joel Girrbach.
Playing in the same group as Smith and Day, Min Woo Lee made a hot start with five birdies in his first 11 holes to take the early lead but three bogeys on the front nine – his second nine – undid his early good work and slipped him back to the chasing back.
Smith and Day both took a while to get going after the 6.10am tee time local time, but they delighted the big crowd following them around as Day went bogey free while Smith roared to life in the latter half of his round with four birdies.
Australian Marc Leishman sits alongside his Ripper GC teammate Smith and Day at -4 with a round that included six birdies as five other players headed into the clubhouse two shots back of Smylie.
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SELECTED RD 1 TEE TIMES
6:00am AEST, Tee 10 — David Micheluzzi, Jordan Smith, Aldrich Potgieter
6:10am AEST, Tee 10 — Min Woo Lee, Cameron Smith, Jason Day
6:20am AEST, Tee 10 — Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Marc Leishman, Harry Higgs
11:10am AEST, Tee 1 — Victor Perez, Cameron Davis, Lucas Herbert
11:20am AEST, Tee 1 — Yannik Paul, Brett Coletta, Geoff Ogilvy
11:30am AEST, Tee 1 — Nicolas Colsaerts, Jason Scrivener, Curtis Luck
11:40am AEST, Tee 1 — Rafa Cabrera Bello, Fred Biondi, Jake McLeod
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Min Woo Lee returns to defend his title while Jason Day is chasing a second major and hometown hero Cameron Smith is right in the running as the 88th edition of the Australian PGA Championship gets underway on Thursday.
The Australian trio all tee off at the same time (6.10am) and speaking to foxsports.com.au ahead of his return to Royal Queensland, Lee said he feels like his game is “very close” to being back in contention again.
“Once aspect of the game I needed to get better at was my approach play and the last few months have kind of proven that the work my team has done has got there,” he said.
“Because I’m hitting it better, converting doesn’t seem as converting because I used to miss a lot of greens and make a lot of up and downs.
“But now I’m hitting greens, you’re obviously not going to hole every putt, but hopefully I can hit it closer and hole some putts.”
Day, meanwhile, said on Wednesday that his recent resurgence has lit a fire inside him to chase a second major in 2025, a decade after the Australian smashed through the barrier at the PGA Championship.
Day won seven PGA Tour titles in 17 starts across 2015 and 2016. At the time, some predicted the next Tiger Woods may have arrived.
But since capturing his maiden major at Whistling Straits in 2015 he has failed to again taste success at golf’s four biggest events, with back injuries severely hampering his career.
ULTIMATE GUIDE: When the big guns tee off and who the favourite is
Day vows to play more golf in Aus | 02:20
The 37-year-old enjoyed a resurgence in 2023, fuelled by swing changes designed to relieve pressure on his lower back.
Day won his 13th PGA Tour title and at last year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool tied for second.
He has posted four top-10s on the PGA Tour this year and said at Royal Queensland in Brisbane ahead of the Australian PGA Championship.
“I feel good about my game,” the former world number one said.
“A goal (for 2025) is to try and win a major and another goal is to win an elevated (PGA Tour) event.
“The goal for me has always been trying to win all four (majors). I know I definitely have the game to win majors.”
It is Day’s first appearance in his homeland since 2017.
Elsewhere, Smith knows time is running out to bag a first victory of 2024 and the major champion is hungry to get it done in his hometown of Brisbane at this week’s Australian PGA Championship.
The event at Royal Queensland Golf Club is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and is the first stop of the European circuit’s global 2025 schedule.
Smith desperate for Aussie redemption | 00:57
The 31-year-old Smith is yet to record an individual win this year and has only a handful of tournaments remaining to change that.
After the Australian PGA he will tee up in the Australian Open next week in Melbourne and the Asian Tour’s Saudi International in early December.
“I’d love for my first win (of 2024) to come here,” Smith, who is a member at Royal Queensland, said Tuesday.
“I would have loved for it to come a little bit earlier. I feel a little added pressure with tournaments running out.”
He is desperate to keep alive a streak of winning at least one tournament worldwide each year since 2020 across the PGA, DP World and LIV Golf tours after several close calls in 2024.
On the LIV Golf circuit he posted three runner-up finishes and played a part in his team, Ripper GC, winning the league’s season-long title.
At the majors his highlight was tied sixth at the Masters.
To sharpen up, Florida-based Smith returned to Australia in October and played two humble state-level events.
At the Queensland PGA Championship he tied for third and was second behind Lucas Herbert at last week’s New South Wales Open.
Min Woo Lee on his ‘bold’ chef hat stunt | 01:23
Fellow Australian Herbert is also in the running this week.
Smith is determined to atone for last year’s Australian PGA, where, as defending champion, he shot a seven-over 78 in the second round and missed the cut.
At the time he choked back tears and conceded a lack of competition contributed to what he called his worst day in 10 years as a professional golfer.
“I feel like my game is in a really good spot,” Smith added on Tuesday.
“I’ve done all the prep, particularly the last month, to really be competitive. I want to be in contention on Sunday.”
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