Elvis Smylie is proud to be the DP World Tour’s top Australian player as he prepares to make his debut at the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
The 23-year-old was the first winner of the 2025 season on home soil at the BMW Australian PGA Championship to secure his membership and has been in the top 30 on the Race to Dubai Rankings ever since in a brilliant debut season.
He now arrives at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 17th in the season-long standings and as the only Australian in a field which saw the top 70 qualify at the end of the regular season.
And while he admits he would like to have some countrymen for company in the UAE, he is proud to be the top player on Tour from a country that has produced the likes of Peter Thomson, Greg Norman, Adam Scott and Jason Day.
“It’s a proud moment,” he said.
“To be the only Aussie here these two weeks, it would have been nicer to have a few more but I’m trying to represent myself and represent Australia as well as I can.”
Smylie only claimed his first professional win 13 months ago but he now finds himself not only in elevated company on the DP World Tour but with a chance to secure dual membership of the PGA TOUR at the end of next week’s DP World Tour Championship.
It has certainly been a rapid rise through the golfing ranks for the likeable Queenslander but he is in no danger of being intimidated by the company he is keeping.
“Making the Play-Offs in my first year is an achievement in itself but I think it’s just been a by-product of the good work I’ve done with the team that I have around me," he said.
“It’s going to be a good two weeks to finish the year and I've got an opportunity to try and earn a PGA TOUR card in the process of all that which is exciting.
READ MORE
• Rory McIlroy gunning for long-awaited Abu Dhabi victory
• Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Edoardo Molinari picks out the key holes and players to watch
“It’s in the back of everyone’s mind, there’s a lot of points up for grabs these two weeks, but it’s important for me to put my best forward these two weeks. It’s been an ambition of mine since I was kid.
“I believe where I am is where I‘m meant to be and hopefully I can show that in these two weeks.”
If he is to rise up the Rankings and make his ambition a reality, he is going to have to master desert golf both at Yas Links this week and next at the very different test of the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
It is not a style of golf he will be used to but as with most things this season, he is taking it all in his stride.
“I’m finding it quite well,” he said. “I feel like the adjustment is quite easy and I've played on courses like this before.
“It almost reminds me of a version of Kingsbarns where we played in the Dunhill Links but obviously the weather is a lot nicer!
“It just has that linksy feel to it, a lot of undulation, a lot of slope. The rough is quite thick so driving it well is going to be key this week.
“I feel like my game suits desert golf quite well. I think you have to do a good job with being able to control your ball flight around here.
“It’s quite an open space so I think the wind is going to get up throughout the week so it’s important to flight your ball well and there’s a lot of undulation on these greens so just trying to make sure that you finish the ball in the right spots on the greens is key as well.
“I’m really looking forward to it and hope for a good week.
“The last few weeks have probably not been the greatest but I’m trying to call on some of the good memories I’ve had in France and also in Copenhagen and a couple of other places.
“I had my coach out here for a couple of days from Australia throughout last week when the off-week was on and I’m hoping to put some of that good work into tournament play this week.”
