Three-time winner Cameron Smith and his compatriot Elvis Smylie lead a strong home contingent after the delayed second round of the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
The duo got to 10 under par in glorious sunshine on Saturday after heavy downpours at Royal Queensland Golf Club forced play to be abandoned on Friday, with the tournament now reduced to 54-holes.
Australian Stars
Cameron Smith triumphed at this event in 2017, 2018 and 2022, and the 150th Open Champion carded a brilliant 65 which yielded seven birdies and one dropped shot, while Smylie mixed six gains and two bogeys in his 67 to top a leaderboard dominated by Australian stars.
Leishman
Marc Leishman is their closest rival at nine under, with David Micheluzzi – who earned his DP World Tour card for 2024 via the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit – at eight under, alongside the only overseas player inside the top five, South African Aldrich Potgieter.
Potgieter made a blistering start with three birdies in his opening three holes and picked up further shots at the fifth, seventh and ninth to reach the turn in a blemish-free 30 and sit three clear at ten under.
But he dropped back with bogeys at the 10th and 18th, while Smith recorded three birdies and one bogey on the back nine, and Smylie went one better with four birdies – including a crucial gain on the last – to separate themselves from the chasing pack.
Englishman Matt Southgate, Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach and Ben Eccles are three off the lead at seven under. Spaniard Ivan Cantero and South African Ryan van Velzen are one shot further back alongside six Australians: Jason Day, Cam Davis, Matias Sanchez, Lincoln Tighe, Harrison Crowe and Jack Buchanan.
