The mark of a professional golfer can often be gauged by the company they keep. Or, in the case of Elvis Smylie, the company that keeps them.
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Adam Scott greeted the media today ahead of this week’s BMW Australian PGA Championship and spoke as much about Smylie as he did his own season and the state of his game.
Scott, who at 45 is forging a mentoring role for up-and-coming Aussie pros, sees high potential in Smylie’s immediate path ahead in world golf.
“The little bit of time I’ve got to spend with Elvis, I think he’s thinking about things the right way. I can tell his motivation to get better,” Scott said before regaling a story that, in his eyes, revealed Smylie’s commitment to improvement.
“He was at an event about 18 months ago, and he wasn’t in the event, but he was out there watching some of the best players. He was practising nearby and training. It was before the British Open and not many guys would have the thought to do that.
“He just wants to learn and his progress has been quick. [He’s] another exciting prospect for us and another one who should be really focused on trying to get on the International Presidents Cup team next year.”
The fact that a player who was yet to cement a foothold in pro golf 12 months ago is now being discussed in Presidents Cup conversations is indicative of the plane of Smylie’s ascent.
Victory at the WA Open 13 months ago was the confidence boost he needed before stunning the field with his poise and sharp all-round play at Royal Queensland last November. A DP World Tour card was the peak reward, one he parlayed into a 23rd-place finish in this year’s Race to Dubai, plus further job security that includes a guaranteed start at the Open Championship next July.
By any measure, it was a season of genuine upside; one bolstered by a huge foundation where that early momentum was not lost and one when important lessons were learned. “Character-building,” Smylie called it today.
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“Spending the whole year on the DP World Tour, travelling around different countries, exploring different climates, I feel like it’s been a real character-building year, both on and off the course,” he said. “Majority of the year I travelled by myself, so you do learn a lot about yourself when you’re in countries where it’s not always English-speaking, you’re having to use Google Translate and yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it.”
This week Smylie completes the circle, playing in his home state once more and savouring the happy memories that come with being the defending champion.
“There’s going to be a little bit of nerves and excitement and adrenaline, but I think that’s all something that I’ll embrace,” he said. “It’s a privilege to feel that. Not many people have the opportunity to be able to defend a title and feel those emotions, so to be able to be in that opportunity, I’m excited for it.”
When asked to elaborate on Scott’s observation about soaking in a tournament in which he wasn’t competing, Smylie flashed his considerable ‘golf IQ’.
“How [players] carry themselves,” he said. “Body language, demeanour, shot selection, especially when it gets breezy. I think you really do see a lot of the tools that a player has, especially when it does get breezy as well as their advice. Fortunately, I’ve built a couple of good relationships with the top guys and I can lean on them for good advice.”
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Wanting to prolong this cerebral line of conversation, your correspondent asked Smylie whether there was a moment during his 2025 international campaign when he began to feel comfortable in the professional realm – when he felt like he belonged. He responded without hesitation.
“The moment that really stands out to me was making the cut at Quail Hollow [at the PGA Championship]. I had the opportunity to compete in that event thanks to winning the Order of Merit here in Australia last year, so I’m very grateful to the PGA of Australia for making that happen as well as the PGA of America.
“Mixing it with the best guys in the world, that’s why I practise, that’s why I train the way I do – to feel those butterfly feelings of adrenaline and being able to execute great shots under a tremendous amount of pressure. So that was probably the moment in the middle part of the year when I felt like I did belong and I managed to have some really good results after that as well.”
We followed up: Did you get any feedback, whether from inside or outside golf, a comment made in your direction, praise – whatever – that lifted your spirits and made you feel like, Yeah, I’m actually one of the world’s best golfers.
“I had the opportunity to have dinner with Adam in Korea a few months ago and we sat down, had a really nice chat,” Smylie replied before grinning as he continued. “I think 11, 12-year-old Elvis would be pinching himself for an opportunity like that, just to be able to pick his brain about certain things and to know that he’s looking out for me and he’s watching my career progress. That’s pretty special.”
Pretty special indeed. If self-belief, technical prowess and having friends in the right places count for anything, don’t be surprised if the Joe Kirkwood Cup doesn’t change hands this weekend.
