Poring over Rory McIlroy’s past success at Quail Hollow and standing alongside the Masters champion on the range has convinced Elvis Smylie he is ready to take his place among the game’s best at this week’s US PGA Championship in Charlotte.

As the 2024-2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit winner, Smylie was last week granted a special exemption to play the year’s second major championship and the second major of his career.

While hopeful he might receive the same exemption granted to the previous two Order of Merit winners David Micheluzzi and Kazuma Kobori, Smylie’s late call-up necessitated a mad dash to North Carolina.

The Queenslander took to Quail Hollow on Sunday to begin his tournament preparation but is somewhat familiar having watched highlights of McIlroy’s four wins at the venue along with Justin Thomas’s 2017 PGA Championship victory.

That, combined with exposure to the game’s stars since joining the DP World Tour, has the 23-year-old in a positive frame of mind ahead of his first start as a professional in the US.

“I remember watching the 2017 PGA Championship when Justin Thomas won there so I’ve gone back and watched the extended highlights of that year and then also the Wells Fargo Championship (now Truist Championship) the past few years when Rory’s won and Max Homa,” said Smylie.

“I’ve gone back and had a bit of a look and seen the course and it looks amazing.

“I’m really excited to play in America for the first time as a professional. That’s something that I haven’t done yet so to be able to get right into the deep end is going to be really exciting because I feel like that my game has gone to that next level after playing in Europe.”

Smylie’s transition to the DP World Tour was fast-tracked by his victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship in November.

That win in the co-sanctioned tournament secured a playing category effective immediately, status he used to tee it up in elite company.

Tied for fifth at the Australian Open, Smylie was in South Africa the next week for the Nedbank Golf Challenge alongside the likes of Max Homa, Corey Conners, Will Zalatoris and Masters champion Danny Willett.

Next up was the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament headlined by McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Reed.

“When I look around and see the names … Rory McIlroy was in the field at the start of the year in Dubai along with Jon Rahm and Adam Scott, world-class players that I’ve grown up watching on TV,” added Smylie, who narrowly missed the cut at The Open last year.

“To be competing against them in the same tournament, I feel like I really do belong.

“I don’t really get overwhelmed too much. I more so think of it as an opportunity to see how good my game is against these guys.”

And while he fully intends to link up with fellow Aussies such as Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Jason Day for a practice round, Smylie is conscious of not over-doing it before Round 1 tees off.

“My tendency last year playing The Open was wanting to play a lot, just because it’s a major, it’s just really exciting,” Smylie conceded.

“But I’m doing my best at being able to prepare like any other tournament.

“That’s where the experience of having Ritchie (Smith, Smylie’s coach) around will be really beneficial.

“I’d love to play all four rounds of the major. I think that’s a realistic goal for me.

“Once we can get through those first two rounds, then it’s just about really embracing what you’re feeling and just going after it.”

Smylie is one of seven Australians in the field this week alongside Cam Davis, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Karl Vilips.

Photo: Jason Butler/Getty Images

All four rounds of the US PGA Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo. Round 1 coverage begins Friday morning at 3am AEST.