BRISBANE, Australia — The Australian PGA Championship’s second round was cancelled on Friday due to heavy rain and an unplayable course condition, forcing officials to reduce the tournament to 54 holes. The announcement was made more than five hours after the initial scheduled tee time at Royal Queensland.

In the build-up to the cancellation, approximately 25 millimeters (an inch) of rain fell overnight on Thursday, adding to the preceding 200 millimeters (eight inches) that had drenched the course earlier in the week. The rainfall intensified again as tournament officials determined that it would be impossible to proceed with play on that day.

A key challenge for the organizers was the fact that Queensland does not observe daylight saving time, restricting any potential play to before 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Fortunately, forecasts for the weekend indicated that conditions might improve.

Young Australian golfer Elvis Smylie, aged 22 and the son of former tennis player Liz Smylie, took the lead after the opening round with an impressive score of 6-under 65. He was in front by a single stroke over France’s Victor Perez, Australia’s Matias Sanchez, Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach, and Chile’s Cristobal Del Solar, who managed to birdie four of his last five holes on the challenging, wet course during Thursday’s play.

High-profile competitors and local favorites, Cameron Smith and Jason Day—participating in his first Australian event in seven years—followed closely behind Smylie, each posting rounds of 67. Min Woo Lee, last year’s champion at Royal Queensland, carded a score of 68, leaving him three shots off the lead. Lee, Day, and Smith played in the same group on Thursday.

The Australian PGA Championship marks the beginning of the 2025 European Tour season. Many of the same players will be heading to Melbourne next week for the Australian Open, which is also part of the European Tour, occurring simultaneously with the Women’s Australian Open at the prestigious sandbelt courses of Kingston Heath and Victoria.