TOUR INSIGHT
The vagaries of playing at home.
That the PGA Tour of Australasia managed to pull together a schedule at all for the summer of 2020/21 was an outstanding achievement.
Closures of state borders, restrictions and the many other difficulties imposed by the ongoing COVID pandemic made moving players from state-to-state and even gaining access to venues a significant task.
Similarly, the ability of three of the country’s young up-and-coming players to secure full status for next season on the local circuit having turned professional just this year is an achievement worth recognising.
Elvis Smylie (pictured above), Jack Thompson and Nathan Barbieri joined the play-for-pay ranks in 2021 after coronavirus all but ended hopes of playing elite amateur events, with Smylie finishing T3 at The Players Series Sydney and T2 at the NSW Open.
Smylie, playing in the second to last group on Sunday at Concord, saw his hopes of a Tour win in his third pro start at just 18 years of age disappear when he was forced to take a penalty drop at the penultimate hole. The Queenslander and son of four-time Grand Slam doubles tennis champion Liz, shared second with Thompson behind arguably the player of the summer, Bryden Macpherson.
“I’m almost lost for words … but I’m incredibly proud of how I’ve conducted myself over these last few tournaments as a professional,” a visibly disappointed Smylie said after the final round.
“(To not win) is hard, but I’ll bounce back and it will only be a little hole at the end of the day. It’s a setback, but it won’t impact me in the long term.”
Thompson and Barbieri played with the resurgent Macpherson in the final round of the NSW Open, although both were little chance of wrestling the Kel Nagle Cup late on Sunday, they like Smylie secured playing rights for next season.
But while all three have promising futures in the game they need not look far to learn how things can be so different in the dog-eat-dog world of professional golf in this country.
Similarly earning a reputation as a future star when still an amateur pegging it up against the pros in 2006, Aaron Pike (pictured right) faced an almost unprecedented situation on his home circuit this season.
Just over 12 months removed from a share of third at the Australian Open that earnt him a spot at The Open which he will finally take up this year, Pike has lost his card despite winning the NT PGA in October.
Due to restrictions on Victorian travellers at the time, a winner’s exemption was not in place for the winner of the NT PGA that Pike won by defeating close friend and housemate for the week Michael Sim in a play-off.
Top-15 finishes in three more of the smaller prizemoney events and two more made cuts since meant he finished outside the all-important number to keep full playing rights for next season.
“I’m extremely disappointed to lose my card, especially considering I won an event this season,” Pike, who was unsure whether he would head back to Tour school following the NSW Open, told Golf Australia magazine.
All four players provide more examples of the highs and lows of professional golf, particularly when playing at home.