Elvis Smylie earns berth in The Open Championship through Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
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Elvis Smylie finished at the top of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia’s new Order of Merit champion, Elvis Smylie, has now set his sights on being a PGA TOUR member in 2026.
The 22-year-old from Queensland, Australia, won twice on his home tour during the 2024-25 season including one of the “Australian majors,” the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club (a future Olympic Games venue) in November.
With five other top-10 finishes over the summer, he secured enough Order of Merit points to wrap up the title with one event remaining.
Finishing top of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit for the first time has brought Smylie a host of rewards, including a berth in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in July. It will be his second straight appearance at the sport’s oldest major.
He’s only the fourth lefty to win the Australasian Order of Merit title, joining Richard Green (2004), Nick O’Hern (2006) and Greg Chalmers (2011, 2014).
Last 10 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit champions
| Year | Champion | Home country |
| 2024-25 | Elvis Smylie | Australia |
| 2023-24 | Kazuma Kobori | New Zealand |
| 2022-23 | David Micheluzzi | Australia |
| 2021-22 | Jediah Morgan | Australia |
| 2020-21 | Brad Kennedy | Australia |
| 2019 | Ryan Fox | New Zealand |
| 2018 | Jake McLeod | Australia |
| 2017 | Brett Rumford | Australia |
| 2016 | Matthew Griffin | Australia |
| 2015 | Nathan Holman | Australia |
“This is pretty special,” Smylie said. "It's a goal that I set out at the start of the season last October and it's an honor to win the title and the opportunities that it comes with.”
Smylie’s surge to the top of the Order of Merit standings started with a third-place finish in his season debut at the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics at Kalgoorlie Golf Course. He then secured the first title of his career at the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, beating Jak Carter in a sudden-death playoff on a windy afternoon at Mandurah Country Club.
The big Order of Merit points came through his victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club, which also earned him a coveted DP World Tour card, followed by a T5 at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open on the Melbourne Sandbelt. He picked up another top-10 finish at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
Elvis Smylie's 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia results
| Tournament | Results |
| CKB WA PGA Championship | Third |
| Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open | First |
| Webex Players Series South Australia | T8 |
| Queensland PGA Championship | Fifth |
| Ford NSW Open | T24 |
| BMW Australian PGA Championship | First |
| ISPS HANDA Australian Open | Fifth |
| New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport | T8 |
| Heritage Classic | T53 |
“As soon as I won at (Royal Queensland), I'm like ‘Right, I'm in the box seat. So let's just keep going,'" he said. “It's starting to sink in now that I’ve achieved what I set out to do, which is cool.”
As the Order of Merit champion, Smylie also receives a place in the final stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School, although he has his sights on earning PGA TOUR status for 2026 and joining Adam Scott, another Order of Merit champion, without taking that route.
“So my goal now shifts to the (DP World Tour) and focusing on trying to finish in the top 10 on the Order of Merit there to try and get a PGA TOUR card in America,” Smylie said. "That's my main focus now, but there're a couple other goals that I'll have a look at that with my team.”
Smylie is currently ranked 11th on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai and is scheduled to tee it up in upcoming April events.
Smylie’s spectacular season has also seen his Official World Golf Ranking climb from No. 1119 in the fall to just outside the top 200.
