Elvis Smylie will make his US PGA Championship debut later this month after being granted a special exemption to play at Quail Hollow.
The Australian is rewarded for having won the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA TOUR of Australasia Order of Merit, with a start at the year’s second Major Championship the latest highlight in a memorable season so far on the DP World Tour.
Victory on home soil at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in November earned him a DP World Tour card, just weeks after he claimed his first win as a professional at the Bowra & O'Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open.
Four top 20 finishes have since followed for Smylie, including in back-to-back events in his two most recent starts in China, leading to him being 17th in the Race to Dubai Rankings on Golf’s Global Tour.
It has been a rapid rise for a man who did not get through the First Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School in September.
This will be his second start at a Major, having come through qualifying to compete at The Open Championship last summer.
“I’m really excited for this opportunity,” Smylie said in a post to Instagram.
“Thank you to the PGA of America for the invite and to Chairman, Ian Baker-Finch, and his team at the PGA of Australia for all the help with this process.
“I can’t wait and I’ll see you all at Quail Hollow.”
Smylie’s inclusion takes the total number of Australians to six, joining 2015 champion Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and 2025 PGA TOUR winners Min Woo Lee and Karl Vilips.
As the reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia champion, Smylie will also be in the field at The Open at Royal Portrush.
