{"id":666893,"date":"2026-05-12T22:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/666893\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:24:15","slug":"the-australasians-at-the-pga-championship-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/666893\/","title":{"rendered":"The Australasians at the PGA Championship – News"},"content":{"rendered":"

First played in 1916, the PGA Championship was the first golf major won by an Australian, Jim Ferrier, defeating Chick Harbert 2&1 at Plum Hollow Country Club in 1947, a decade before it changed to a strokeplay championship.<\/p>\n

Since 1958, a further four Aussies have raised the Wanamaker Trophy, making it equal to The Open Championship as the major won by the most Australians.<\/p>\n

The most recent Aussie winner is Jason Day in 2015, the now 38-year-old back this year to make his 17th PGA Championship.<\/p>\n

It is the 26th straight PGA Championship for Adam Scott, who will be playing in his 99th consecutive major, just one US Open away from joining Jack Nicklaus as the only players to tee it up in 100 straight majors.<\/p>\n

As Scott prepares for PGA No.27, Sydney\u2019s Travis Smyth will play his first.<\/p>\n

Smyth\u2019s only previous major championship start came at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, and his first major in the US seemed unlikely at the start of the year.<\/p>\n

But an extraordinary three-tournament run through New Zealand saw Smyth claim the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, parlaying that form into victory at the International Series Japan on the Asian Tour.<\/p>\n

It was that victory that all but guaranteed Smyth\u2019s place at Aronimink by virtue of his top-three position on the International Federation Ranking on the Official World Golf Ranking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t played there before, but I have fortunately played a lot of golf up in the north-east of America, so the grasses and stuff are going to be familiar,\u201d said Smyth.<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

PLUS…
\n
\n Callum Hill: Why major golf still cuts through in an attention economy <\/p>\n

Modern sport is fighting harder than ever for live, sustained attention.<\/p>\n


\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to be set up, if it\u2019s going to be firm or not, depending on the weather, but I\u2019m just expecting a really long, tough golf course with thick rough, deep bunkers, firm, fast greens.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a major, so it should be set up quite difficult. And mentally, I\u2019m just preparing for the hardest test of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2022 Open champion, Cameron Smith, has split with long-time coach Grant Field as he seeks to end a run of six straight missed cuts in major championships, while Min Woo Lee is out to bounce back after failing to make the weekend at The Masters.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the Aussie charge is Elvis Smylie, who returns to the PGA Championship for the second straight year, having made the cut at Quail Hollow last year.<\/p>\n

Aronimink Golf Club is itself a storied Donald Ross-designed venue that received an update from acclaimed architect Gil Hanse in 2018. It has hosted the PGA Championship just once, with Gary Player victorious by two strokes in 1962.<\/p>\n

All four rounds of the PGA Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports, with Round 1 coverage starting Thursday at 8:45 pm AEST.<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

PLUS…
\n
\n TV Guide: How to watch this week’s golf <\/p>\n

It’s another blockbuster week of elite international golf ahead. Here is when you’ll have to wake up to catch all the USPGA Championship action, as well as the USLPGA and LET on Fox Sports and Kayo (all times AEST).<\/p>\n


\n <\/a><\/p>\n

The Australasians<\/p>\n

Jason Day<\/p>\n

Age: 38<\/p>\n

World ranking: 41<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 16<\/p>\n

Best finish: Won, 2015<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: T2, The American Express (PGA TOUR)<\/p>\n

Ryan Fox (NZ)<\/p>\n

Age: 39<\/p>\n

World ranking: 56<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 7<\/p>\n

Best finish: T23, 2023<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: T7, The Genesis Invitational (PGA TOUR)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ryan Fox. PHOTO: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Daniel Hillier (NZ)<\/p>\n

Age: 27<\/p>\n

World ranking: 96<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 0<\/p>\n

Best finish: First appearance<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: Won, New Zealand Open<\/p>\n

Min Woo Lee<\/p>\n

Age: 27<\/p>\n

World ranking: 31<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 4<\/p>\n

Best finish: T18, 2023<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: T2, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (PGA TOUR)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Adam Scott. PHOTO: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Adam Scott<\/p>\n

Age: 45<\/p>\n

World ranking: 46<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 25<\/p>\n

Best finish: 3rd, 2018<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: 4th, Genesis Invitational (PGA TOUR)<\/p>\n

Cameron Smith<\/p>\n

Age: 32<\/p>\n

World ranking: 239<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 10<\/p>\n

Best finish: T9, 2023<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: T8, LIV Golf Adelaide and LIV Golf Singapore<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Elvis Smylie and Cam Smith. PHOTO: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

Elvis Smylie<\/p>\n

Age: 24<\/p>\n

World ranking: 94<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 1<\/p>\n

Best finish: T72, 2025<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: Won, LIV Golf Riyadh<\/p>\n

Travis Smyth<\/p>\n

Age: 31<\/p>\n

World ranking: 145<\/p>\n

Previous starts: 0<\/p>\n

Best finish: First appearance<\/p>\n

Best finish in 2026: Won, ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship; Won, International Series Japan<\/p>\n


\n \u00a9 Golf Australia. All rights reserved. \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First played in 1916, the PGA Championship was the first golf major won by an Australian, Jim Ferrier,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-666893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}