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‘Drama’ haunts Smith on final day as young gun wins title

‘Drama’ haunts Smith on final day as young gun wins title

Rising star Elvis Smylie has taken out the Australian PGA Championship, finishing ahead of his mentor Cameron Smith in a reduced event at Royal Queensland.

After weather wreaked havoc on Friday, the players ended up battling it out over 54 holes, and it was Smylie who finished at the top of the leaderboard.

A classy performance on the final day of play in Brisbane saw young gun Smylie finish 14-under for over the three rounds, two shots better than Smith.

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Smylie worked closely with Smith in his formative years and has spoken at length about the influence the 2022 British Open winner has had on his golfing career.

Elvis Smylie in action at the Australian PGA Championship. Getty

Marc Leishman and Anthony Quayle finished tied for third at 11-under par.

Smith held the joint-lead heading into the final day, but failed to capitalise and dropped a few shots on Sunday in front of his home crowd.

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There was one moment from Smith he’d like to have back, after he hit the ball into the wetlands and fell further behind the lead.

“This one going left and there is major drama over there,” commentator Warren Smith said. “They are calling for a rules official.”

Elsewhere, last year’s champion Min Woo Lee was unable to defend his crown, with a knee injury hampering the cult hero throughout the tournament.

“I can fully swing a club at whatever miles per hour but I can’t bend down, which is really astonishing,” the 26-year-old said.

“It was just a freak accident. I literally just turned in bed and something popped. It’s getting a lot better, but I still can’t bend down to read putts.”

Angel Ayora (-9) and Aldrich Potgieter (-8) were the best of the internationals, while other Aussies including Jason Day finished outside the top five on the leaderboard.