[Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images]
A PGA Tour card is within reach for Queenslander Elvis Smylie if he can produce a strong finish at this week’s DP World Tour Championship.
RELATED: Elvis Smylie – a little more conversation
The season-ender at Jumeirah Golf Estates will decide the final Race to Dubai standings, where the top 10 members not otherwise exempt will secure PGA Tour status for next season.
Smylie enters the finale ranked 20th in his debut DP World Tour season, just five spots shy of Jordan Smith, who currently holds the final PGA Tour card position. A high finish on Sunday night could see 23-year-old Smylie climb into the top 10 and achieve his PGA Tour dream.
Since winning the BMW Australian PGA Championship last November to earn his DP World Tour card, Smylie has remained inside the top 30 all season, putting him in position for a career-defining result in Dubai.
“I’m really excited to be here and at Jumeirah,” Smylie said.
“This is my first time here and the first time in the tournament. Obviously if you’ve got to this position, you’ve had a fairly good year and I think I’ve had a fairly good one as well.
“Really excited to hopefully have a good week and try and earn a PGA Tour card. I know I have to have a pretty high finish, but it’s definitely possible.
“And I really like the course. I just finished the pro-am and you really do have to drive the ball well. There’s a couple of bunkers that are placed at kind of awkward distances off the tee, so driving will be crucial this week.
“I’ve actually played on courses that are a little bit similar to this back home in Australia. The Bermuda grass is something I’m quite used to and the little parts of the grain around the greens I’m used to.
“I really haven’t had to adjust too much to what I’m used to back home.”
