Day delivers in Aussie return, eyes 'Brissy boy' duel

Jason Day admits the prospect of a Sunday duel between "two Brissy boys" is tantalising after going shot-for-shot with Cameron Smith in his overdue Australian golfing return. Back in Australia for the first time in seven years, Day missed a short birdie putt on his last hole to settle for a bogey-free, four-under 67 at Royal Queensland in Thursday's Australian PGA Championship first round. Elvis Smylie (65) leads the field at six under with only a handful remaining on course, Frenchman Victor Perez and Matias Sanchez defying tough conditions as afternoon rain fell to sit one shot behind with Swiss challenger Joel Girrbach. Smylie, the son of former tennis star Liz, chipped from one greenside bunker to another before holing his next shot to birdie his last hole for the outright lead. "I didn't touch the green and made four, so a pretty good way to finish," he smiled post-round. Smith, Day, Marc Leishman and South African young gun Aldrich Potgieter were in a group of players two behind Smylie. Day was unsure how crowds would receive him, given he hadn't played the event since 2011 and not set foot in the country since playing the Australian Open in 2017. But the former world No.1 was embraced as he enjoyed a rare competitive grouping with LIV Golf star Smith, who remembered him as "a gun" when the pair were dominant Queensland juniors. Smith, a former world No.2 and British Open winner, has won the event three times in the last six years and Day would love to test the younger man's mettle on Sunday afternoon. "It would be fun; it's always fun to be in contention but if it's two Brissy boys that would be nice," Day said. "In the final group on Sunday if you can get there, on the back nine, anything can happen. The goal is to get there." Defending champion Min Woo Lee (68) cut a frustrated figure, starting with four birdies in his first six holes and reaching five-under before sliding back into the pack with three late bogeys. Brisbane had been hammered by rain all week but it eased on Wednesday night as course staff worked overtime to drain bunkers and ensure the fairways weren't water-logged. Hundreds set their alarms and braved ominous grey skies to see the Australian super-group's 6.10am tee off. The devoted gallery then grew to thousands by the time they finished their round. Smith's radar was slightly off as he mixed two bogeys with two birdies to round the turn even par, before birdieing the first two holes on his back nine in the $2 million tournament. He joked the 3am wake-up time had meant he wasn't truly firing until he rounded the turn. "It just wasn't all clicking," he said. "After the way I putted last Sunday (at the NSW Open), seeing the ball go in and getting a little bit of confidence, that was nice. "When I feel like I'm putting good I feel like the rest of my game frees up and I can really start to play some aggressive golf." Late in the day Korean Minkyu Kim aced the 11th hole, but his timing was poor with the offer of a new BMW for any professional who manages the feat only applying at the weekend.