[PHOTO: Australian PGA Championship]
Former world No.1 Jason Day has welcomed a Sunday showdown with Cameron Smith at the Australian PGA Championship after the tournament drawcards put themselves on a collision course for a battle in Brisbane.
Smith, the 2022 Open champion from Brisbane’s northern suburbs, and nearby Beaudesert product Day, certainly gave the fans who braved torrential rain a show with a pair of 67s at Royal Queensland.
Teeing off in a super group just 6.10am Thursday with defending Australian PGA champion Min Woo Lee, major winners Day and Smith finished the day trailing fellow Queenslander Elvis Smylie (65) by two shots. Smylie holed a bunker shot at the par-5 ninth, his last and he sat one shot ahead of Swiss pro Joel Girrbach, Australian Matias Sanchez and France’s Victor Perez (66).
Day, a 13-time PGA Tour winner, set himself a a target of 20-under for 72 holes this week with the course softened due to heavy rain lashing Brisbane. “I think the average score is going to be 20-under that wins,” Day said. “You’ve got to understand that it is going to be a bit of a marathon. I’m very pleased with how today went.”
Day said if he and three-time tournament champion Smith were to play themselves into the lead and final group for Sunday’s last round it would be must-watch golf. “It would be fun (to go head-to-head with Smith),” Day said. “It’s always fun to be in contention regardless of who it is, but if it’s two Brissie boys it would be nice.”
Added Smith: “Yeah, it was good. It’s been a while since Jase has been home. I think we were probably both hoping for different conditions of the golf course, but you can’t help the weather. I’m sure Jase is looking forward to getting back to firm and fast Australia and it’s quite the opposite out there, so hopefully this rain can go away. The greens are actually still pretty firm, so yeah, hopefully by Sunday we get an Australian golf course.”
But Smylie, a winner already on the PGA Tour of Australasia this season, wants an invitation to any showdown.
“I want to be where (Day is) is, so it’s definitely motivating to play against those guys,” Smylie said.
