Elvis in the building: Smylie to defend Aust PGA crown
"Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major.
He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush.
Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program.
The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport.
"Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland.
"We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf."
Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in Brisbane.This year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 27-30.The 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time.Victory propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title.
"Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major.
He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush.
Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program.
The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport.
"Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland.
"We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf."
Emerging star Elvis Smylie has locked in the defence of his Australian PGA Championship crown in Brisbane.This year's championship, co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, will again be hosted by Royal Queensland Golf Club from November 27-30.The 23-year-old from the Gold Coast provided one of the major highlights of last season's summer of golf when he held off three-time champion Cameron Smith to win the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time.Victory propelled Smylie onto the world stage by earning him status as a fulltime member of the DP World Tour and he went on to claim the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title.
"Winning the Joe Kirkwood Cup for the first time was a huge honour and definitely the highlight of my career so far," Smylie said on Tuesday."I have some great memories of that final Sunday. It meant so much to win at home in front of my family and friends in one of Australia's most important championships."Although there's still a lot of this year to play out, I can't wait to get back to RQ and try to do it all again."Smylie's rise has continued this year, with the Queenslander making the cut on debut at the PGA Championship, his first American major.
He will also contest this month's British Open at Royal Portrush.
Smith, meanwhile, has announced that his LIV Golf Ripper GC team have forged a new partnership with Golf Australia's MyGolf Junior Participation program.
The program has hit new heights in the past 12 months, with a record-breaking number of children involved in the sport.
"Ripper GC's Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones are passionate about creating opportunities for boys and girls to play and love golf," said GA boss James Sutherland.
"We are grateful for their commitment to inspire the next generation of golfers through MyGolf."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Kitayama cooks, one off lead in hot 3M Open
Thorbjorn Olesen has aced the par-3 eighth and shot a four-under 67 for a share of the 3M Open third-round lead with Akshay Bhatia. But Kurt Kitayama was the star on Saturday. He matched the tournament and course record with a 60, finishing before Olesen and Jake Knapp teed off in the final group, to get to 17 under. Japan's Takumi Kanaya (65) is also 17 under with Knapp (67) and Sam Stevens (66). Olesen, the 35-year-old Dane who led after the second round, used a six iron on the 209-yard eighth at the TPC Twin Cities. "Obviously, took the slope perfectly, a big bonus to see it go in," he said. "It's been a long time since I've had one." Olesen followed the hole-in-one with a bogey on the ninth. He birdied 13 and 14, bogeyed 15, birdied the 16th and parred the final two holes. The eight-time European tour winner is chasing first PGA Tour title. "I'm not going to lie, there's going to be a lot of pressure, but I felt like in my career I've dealt pretty well with pressure," Olesen added. "Obviously, the wins on the DP World Tour, but Ryder Cups, also." Bhatia, the 23-year-old Californian with two PGA Tour victories, had a 63 to post first at 18-under 195. "I chipped in twice, made a lot of putts," he said. "All in all, just a pretty solid round ... I didn't hit it particularly great off the tee, but thankfully greens are soft enough to where you can kind of do that. "I'm just trying to play solid golf and hopefully the cards fall my way tomorrow." The only Australian left in the field is Adam Scott, after four compatriots missed the weekend cut. The former world No.1 and 2013 Masters champion shot a 66 to be tied for 25th at 11 under. Kitayama matched the tournament mark set by Adam Svensson in the first round. Paul Goydos also has a share of the course record, shooting 60 in 2017. The current world No. 97 had 12 birdies and a bogey on 'Moving Day', dropping his only stroke of the week on the 17th.
Sky News AU
16-07-2025
- Sky News AU
Open Championship: Australian Ryan Peake paired with Phil Mickelson
The path to seizing the Claret Jug at this year's Open Championship includes navigating a closing three-hole stretch at Royal Portrush that begins with a 215m par three named 'Calamity Corner' and labelled one of the toughest holes anywhere. But it's not an entirely unenviable task for the nine Australians teeing it up on Thursday to tackle and second-timer Elvis Smylie has armed himself with repeat viewings of local lad Shane Lowry's 2019 triumph at the venue to put himself in the best possible position. Smylie won his way to a second Open Championship by holding off a Cameron Smith challenge at last year's Australian PGA, and winning the Order of Merit, which was a different sort of security to having to qualify for his first appearance. Knowing his spot was locked a long way out allowed the left-handed Queenslander to start his preparation early, upping his confidence of making the cut at a minimum, having missed the weekend last year. 'I final qualified, I didn't have much time to think about Troon,' Smylie said before heading to Northern Ireland where he played a practice round with Smith. 'But the fact I had cemented my position in the field once I won the Order or Merit, I feel like I've given myself a bit more time to have a look at the official film from 2019, see a bit of the course, and it's made me feel happy knowing I have cemented the position earlier than last year.' There's a band of usual suspects flying the Australian flag, including 2022 champ Cameron Smith and fellow major champs Adam Scott and resurgent Jason Day, the highest ranked of his compatriots. But also among the throng is hot and cold Min Woo Lee, journeyman Curtis Luck, LIV guns Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert as well as former prisoner and bikie Ryan Peake, who earnt his spot with victory in the New Zealand Open. Being thrown into the best field in world golf, including a grouping with major champ Phil Mickelson for the opening two rounds, could be daunting. But Peake revealed his chequered past, and his incarceration, proved the catalyst for finding the inspiration to achieve something in his life. 'Basically going from not having any real aspirations in life to then trying to basically tell yourself, while still in prison, that you are going to become a professional golfer. You know there's a bit of mental work to get there,' he said. 'Your team can only push you so far and tell you so much, and the rest of it, you have to start to believe in it yourself. It did take me some time, but I got there in the end!' Open Championship Australian tee times/groupings (Australian times) 3.57pm - Cameron Smith, Marco Penge, Justin Hastings (a) 4.08pm - Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen 4.19pm - Phil Mickelson, Daniel Van Tonder, Ryan Peake 4.52pm - Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert 8.26pm - Stewart Cink, Matteo Manassero, Marc Leishman 9.09pm - Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a) 9.20pm - Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia 11.37pm - Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee 1.05am (Friday) - Daniel Young, Curtis Luck, Curtis Knipes Originally published as Former bikie Ryan Peake paired with Phil Mickelson for Open Championship debut
News.com.au
16-07-2025
- News.com.au
Former bikie Ryan Peake paired with Phil Mickelson for Open Championship debut
The path to seizing the Claret Jug at this year's Open Championship includes navigating a closing three-hole stretch at Royal Portrush that begins with a 215m par three named 'Calamity Corner' and labelled one of the toughest holes anywhere. But it's not an entirely unenviable task for the nine Australians teeing it up on Thursday to tackle and second-timer Elvis Smylie has armed himself with repeat viewings of local lad Shane Lowry's 2019 triumph at the venue to put himself in the best possible position. Smylie won his way to a second Open Championship by holding off a Cameron Smith challenge at last year's Australian PGA, and winning the Order of Merit, which was a different sort of security to having to qualify for his first appearance. Knowing his spot was locked a long way out allowed the left-handed Queenslander to start his preparation early, upping his confidence of making the cut at a minimum, having missed the weekend last year. 'I final qualified, I didn't have much time to think about Troon,' Smylie said before heading to Northern Ireland where he played a practice round with Smith. 'But the fact I had cemented my position in the field once I won the Order or Merit, I feel like I've given myself a bit more time to have a look at the official film from 2019, see a bit of the course, and it's made me feel happy knowing I have cemented the position earlier than last year.' There's a band of usual suspects flying the Australian flag, including 2022 champ Cameron Smith and fellow major champs Adam Scott and resurgent Jason Day, the highest ranked of his compatriots. But also among the throng is hot and cold Min Woo Lee, journeyman Curtis Luck, LIV guns Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert as well as former prisoner and bikie Ryan Peake, who earnt his spot with victory in the New Zealand Open. Being thrown into the best field in world golf, including a grouping with major champ Phil Mickelson for the opening two rounds, could be daunting. But Peake revealed his chequered past, and his incarceration, proved the catalyst for finding the inspiration to achieve something in his life. 'Basically going from not having any real aspirations in life to then trying to basically tell yourself, while still in prison, that you are going to become a professional golfer. You know there's a bit of mental work to get there,' he said. 'Your team can only push you so far and tell you so much, and the rest of it, you have to start to believe in it yourself. It did take me some time, but I got there in the end!' Open Championship Australian tee times/groupings (Australian times) 3.57pm - Cameron Smith, Marco Penge, Justin Hastings (a) 4.08pm - Jason Day, Taylor Pendrith, Jacob Skov Olesen 4.19pm - Phil Mickelson, Daniel Van Tonder, Ryan Peake 4.52pm - Darren Clarke, Davis Riley, Lucas Herbert 9.09pm - Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a) 9.20pm - Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia
