Gold Coast’s Elvis Smylie will make his US major tournament debut after being granted a special exemption to play the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina from May 15-18.

Smylie’s late addition is his latest reward for winning the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. He follows on from the previous two Order of Merit winners, David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, who were also granted late exemptions to play the year’s second major.

While it has represented major championship debuts for Micheluzzi and Kobori in 2023 and 2024 respectively, Smylie enters having played The Open Championship at Royal Troon last year.

He earned that spot through Final Qualifying and, although he narrowly missed the cut, has shown since that he is not overawed by the game’s biggest tournaments.

A win in the third event of the season, the Bowra & O’Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, was a precursor to the 23-year-old’s stirring victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship, where he went toe-to-toe with Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the final group at Royal Queensland Golf Club.

That win secured immediate status on the DP World Tour where the Golf Australia Rookie Squad member has since accrued three top-16 finishes, including in back-to-back events in his two most recent starts in China.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity,” Smylie said in a post to Instagram.

“Thank you to the PGA of America for the invite and to Chairman, Ian Baker-Finch, and his team at the PGA of Australia for all the help with this process.

“I can’t wait and I’ll see you all at Quail Hollow.”

Smylie’s inclusion takes the total number of Australians to seven, joining 2015 champion Jason Day, 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and 2025 PGA TOUR winners Min Woo Lee and Karl Vilips.

As the reigning Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia champion, Smylie will also be in the field at The Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

PGA of Australia General Manager of Tournaments & Global Tour Relationships, Nick Dastey, said: “We’re delighted Elvis has received another opportunity to play against the world’s best players,” said Dastey.

“Our thanks go to the PGA of America for again recognising our Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit with a place in the PGA Championship field.”