Smith, who claimed victory at the 2022 British Open held at St. Andrews, is accompanied by Day, who has previously won the U.S. PGA Championship in 2015, along with fellow Australian golfer Marc Leishman. They find themselves trailing behind the early lead established by Elvis Smylie, the son of former Australian tennis professional Liz Smylie, who carded a 65. Joel Girrbach from Switzerland also put up a strong performance with a score of 66.
Min Woo Lee, the defending champion from last year’s event at Royal Queensland, ended his first round with a score of 68, placing him three strokes off the lead. Lee, Day, and Smith shared an early tee time as the tournament marked a joint event between the PGA Tour of Australasia and a preliminary celebration of the 2025 European Tour season.
The young golfer Smylie, aged 22, hailed from the nearby Gold Coast, expressing that the tournament felt like a “home game” for him.
“It’s only an hour’s drive,” he remarked. “I’ve played a lot of golf here. I’m quite familiar with the course and every part of my game’s really good at the moment. I’m really comfortable with what I’m doing.”
Both Lee (ranked No. 48) and Day (No. 31) are the only golfers from the top 50 in the field. Smith has been competing in PGA Tour of Australasia events for three consecutive weeks, having struggled last week with a 74, which caused him to surrender a two-shot lead at the New South Wales Open, ultimately tying for second, finishing three shots behind the winner, fellow LIV golfer Lucas Herbert.
A number of participants from this tournament are set to move on to Melbourne for the upcoming Australian Open, another event on the European Tour that coincides with the Women’s Australian Open, happening at the renowned sandbelt courses of Kingston Heath and Victoria.