Elvis Smylie will defend his Australian PGA Championship title with record prizemoney up for grabs

After outlasting Cameron Smith in 2024 and overcoming pace-of-play warnings to win the Australian PGA, a rising Australian star is coming back for more.

Elvis Smylie has had a tough time in his first season in Europe but has locked in a return to the place where he enjoyed the biggest moment of his fledgling career.

The defending Australian PGA champion will be returning to fight for record prizemoney at Royal Queensland in November having outlasted Cameron Smith to secure the title in 2024.

Smylie also overcame a pace-of-play warning from officials as he and Smith, playing together in the final pairing, walked onto the 17th tee.

A two-shot victory earnt the 23-year-old left-hander, who is the son of Australian tennis great Liz Smylie, his DP World Tour card and a spot in this month’s Open Championship at Royal Port Rush.

Smylie has recorded two top-20 finishes in Europe this year but missed the cut at his past two events, and while there’s “a lot to play out” in 2025, he’s already excited about coming home to defend his 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.

Elvis Smylie celebrates with his parents Peter and Liz. Picture: Patrick Hamilton / AFP

“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.”

Last week, the PGA of Australia announced a $500,000 bump in prizemoney to $2.5m, more than the prizemoney on offer at the Australian Open the following week where Rory McIlroy will be the headline act at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

The boost in the prize pool, as well as continued co-sanctioning with the DP World Tour, could help boost the quality of the field this year, with headliners likely to again include Smith and Min Woo Lee as well as Adam Scott, who skipped the two Australian events last summer.

Originally published as Elvis Smylie will defend his Australian PGA Championship title with record prizemoney up for grabs