One of the biggest tournaments in the Asia / Oceania region is taking place this week with the Australian PGA Championship. A prestigious tournament which started all the way back in 1929, some of golf’s great and good have been able to get their hands on the trophy and the list of winners includes Cam Smith, Adam Scott, Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros and Peter Thomson.
With the action taking place at the beautiful Royal Queensland Golf Club, here are the stories that have emerged from the first few days of play.
Rain plays havoc with tournament schedule
Despite the tournament taking place when the weather in Australia is supposed to be warm and sunny, tournament organisers were left aghast when Friday’s session was completely wiped out with rain. With the rain falling non-stop, the players were unable to get out on the course and rather than try to squeeze two rounds into one day, the sensible decision was made to make the tournament a 54 hole event with the winner still being crowned on Sunday.
Cam Smith jumps to the top of the leaderboard in mission to win third Australian PGA Championship
Cam Smith is a proud Australian. Proud to represent his nation and proud to play as much golf in front of his fans that adore him, even with the former Open winner moving to LIV, his popularity remains as popular as ever.
With the LIV season having ended a few months ago, Smith announced some months ago that his first tournament back would be this one and so far through the first 36 holes Smith remains on track to capture a third Australian PGA Championship.
Finding himself up with the early pace setters thanks to a decent opening round of 67, Smith was able to make the most out of the soft conditions with a second round 65 which moved him into a share of the lead with the super talented Elvis Smylie.
The decision to cut the tournament to 54 holes should be right up Smith’s street. That has been the format since LIV was first introduced and the three round shootout often requires aggression and a deep knowledge of when to hold back and when to attack.
Surprisingly despite being one of LIV’s biggest names, Smith wasn’t able to add a LIV title to his collection this season and individually is without a victory this year. Nothing would please him more than a win in front of his home fans and if he can get over the line, few would dispute his place amongst some of Australia’s greatest ever players.
Elvis Smylie looks set to be a name many will recognise in the future
For years Elvis Smylie has been a name that many within Australian golfing circles have followed for years. Having turned professional when just 18, the hopes were high that Smylie would progress through the ranks quickly but so far he hasn’t quite been able to live up to the hype.
Now 22, Smylie is starting to consistently show the type of golf that made him one of Australia’s youngest and most exciting players. A gutsy winner of the WA Open last month, the course at the Royal Queensland Open has proven to be to his liking before and he is using his previous experiences to good effect in this year’s tournament.
Tied at the top of the leaderboard on -10, Smylie’s tournament got off to a great start when he hit the top of the standings with a solid opening round 65. Perhaps feeling the pressure of leading such a prestigious event, Smylie’s second round contained two bogeys but he finished strongly to ensure that he maintained his share of the lead.
Unlike Smith who has won this event before, Smylie has it all to prove and he will tee off for his final round knowing that a win will launch his career into an entirely new stratosphere and he could become a name that those outside of Australia really start to notice.
Final round is set for plenty of drama
Gathered in behind Smith and Smylie are several other big names who will all hope to have a special final round and propel themselves to one of Australia’s most famous titles.
With the rain softening up the course, the scoring conditions should be ideal and with the leaderboard being stacked expect plenty of movement in the final round.
Currently finding himself one shot behind the leaders is Cam Smith’s Ripper GC teammate Marc Leishman.
For those familiar with the PGA Tour, Leishman was a solid PGA player, winning five PGA Tour titles and finishing inside the top ten of numerous majors. Surprisingly since making the switch from the PGA Tour to LIV, Leishman has rarely troubled the top of the leaderboard and is yet to win a LIV event.
With many believing that he has lost his way a little, Leishman is proving those people wrong and he finds himself well placed to make an assault up the leaderboard today.
More than capable, he will hope to win his first Australian PGA Championship.
Cam Davis is a two time PGA Tour winner and the world number 51 headed into this week as one of the favourites. A huge hitter of the ball, Davis has proved on numerous occasions that he has the ability to shoot low and although he has four strokes to make up, that won’t put the young Aussie off and he could be one of the best value angles of the day.
Starting level with Davis is one of Australia’s elder statesmen but best ever talents in the form of Jason Day. Despite being a PGA Tour stalwart, Day has always flown the Australian flag with pride and it’s somewhat surprising that he hasn’t been able to join the list of great Australian golfers who have won this title.
When on song, Day has shown countless times that he is one of the best players in the world but too often mistakes can occur at critical times and his rhythm is thrown off. If he can keep the mistakes at bay, he is another player who can certainly muscle in on the action at the top of the leaderboard.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
