The beginning of the journey

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Travis Smyth is an Australian professional golfer from Flinders a town on the south coast of NSW about 100Km south of Sydney.

He was born on 29th December 1994. Parents are Phil and Debbie and elder sister Casey. 

You might say he fell into a golfing career by accident. More accurately he sustained a neck injury whilst playing football at age 12 for his school, Corpus Christi Catholic High School. As he recovered a friend invited him to have a go at golf and he made a stunning debut.  That was the beginning. 

“After that year was over, I began to love golf and decided to not play football anymore. My days then were all golf.” 

He initially joined Port Kembla GC where Shaun O’Toole was his first golf coach.

“Shaun got me to a single figure handicap within 24 months and I first broke par when I was 15. When Shaun moved to Kiama Golf Club in 2015 as Head Professional I followed him.” 

“Kiama Golf Club really helped me out a lot with fundraising efforts to pay for travel and entries. Also local business chipped in, led by John and Kelley Holloway at A Plus plastics and Anytime Fitness.”

His first major progression in golf was an invitation to join the High Performance Program at Golf NSW along with the opportunity to join St Michael’s Golf Club. At St Mick’s, he began his coaching relationship with Head Teaching Professional John Serhan. 


Mercuries Taiwan Masters

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42607790_331990994217939_7268259488711311360_nYeah! lots of clouds on this image! Trav had a rain interrupted practice round because of the weather. The $850,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters  was his 11th Asian Tour event.  That is excluding tournaments co-sanctioned by the Aussie PGA.He shot +4 in the first round to be tied 84th  and right on the likely cut line, which is likely to be +3 or +4.  The leader,  Frenchman Lionel Weber, is at 4 under the card. Maybe he is inspired by the Ryder Cup at Golf National!"Didn't play bad at all! Course was a bit difficult to work out.  Some work to do tomorrow but that's how it is!" 

Travis wins fans in Japan

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IMG_2276Firing rounds of 69,73,70 and 70 Travis finished the Diamond Cup at 2 under par and tied 21st. He climbed up 10 spots from his 3rd round finish. He and Anthony Quayle were the best of the Aussies."My game feels really good at the moment. This course just requires absolute precision off the tee and when you're in the rough you really need to get lucky to be able to advance it to the green.""I missed too many fairways but on average the misses weren’t by much. As you can see on all of my scorecards lots of birdies but also lots of bogeys. It’s a great course and tests all parts of your game. I’m happy with my finish and feel very fortunate for an invite this week. Thanks to the guys at Golf Australia!"The solid finish  at this US$1.3m event means Trav is a step closer to retaining his Asian Tour card for next year.Next week Trav tees up in Taiwan at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters a US$850,000 event. Then is off to Web.Com Q School! 

Edges up leaderboard

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A one under par 70 was sufficient to move Trav up 2 spots to be T31 at the end of the third round in the Diamond Cup.His card included 2 bogeys and a double out weighed by 5 birds. The playing conditions remained tough."Very tiring day for us and difficult scoring conditions, good to finally get back in the red!  Happy to be in contention going into the final round."Check out the scores tomorrow here.

Final Hat-trick to make the Cut

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Trav shot a 2 over par 73 in wet and wild conditions to make the week end at even par for the tournament. The cut line was +2.Nothing was certain until the very end.  A hat-trick of birdies on 16,17 and 18 was a truly fighting way to finish and make the cut.  He is tied 36 at the time of writing. The leader is at 8 under par."My clutch! putts weren’t dropping all day and then I holed 2 great ones for birds on 16 and 18 and had a tap in birdie on 17 from a wedge shot 110 from the fairway. I felt like I played better today it was just so tough with rain from start to finish and the pins being a bit tougher".Other Aussies to make the week end were Anthony Quayle, Brad Kennedy, Matt Griffin and amateur Shae Wools-Cobb. Unfortunately Dan Nisbet had to withdraw with back spasms.

Diamond Cup

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IMG_2268On the range ahead of the first round.Playing in his first tour event in Japan Trav made a great start carding a 2 under par 69.  Starting on the 10th he managed even par on the first nine with a bogey matched by a birdie.  On the second nine got it going a bit with two birds."Game got better and better as the day went on. The last 9 holes were almost flawless. Tomorrow it’s expected to rain all day. Looking forward to getting out there early and tackling the course again. Might head into Shibuya Tokyo in the evening since we tee off at 6.50am!"  ha ha!John Serhan, added " solid start to the week. Driving was awesome on tight fairways. We'll dial in the wedges a bit more tomorrow".He is Tied 22nd at the time of this post alongside Anthony Qualye and a bunch of others. Leader is Daijiro Izmida of Japan who scorched the course with 9 birdies and one bogey for an 8 under par total of 63.There are 9 Aussie Professionals in the field and a couple of amateurs.  The cut of top 60 and ties is likely move out one or two shots from the present even par given forecast rain. 

Top Ten finish in Korea

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Travis carded rounds of 69,66,67 and 70 for a total of 272 and a 12 under par to finish 7th at the Shinhan Donghae Open. He has played in 9 full field Asian Tour events and this is his first top ten.Winner was Shanghyun Park who ran away with the event by 5 shots at 22 under par."I had a great time this week. It was an awesome course that I liked straight away. I thought from my first look at it was a really hard course and to play."Hey my finish could have been better but could have been a lot worse. Most importantly I feel like my game is getting better and better and that’s all I’m trying to do. I just feel in the past few months I am playing like the player I can be: if that makes sense!"Trav tees up next week at the Diamond Cup in Japan.  And who is on the BAG????Stand up Johnny Serhan!!!

In contention in Korea

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After finishing T20 at the NT PGA Trav was thinking about 3 weeks off before his next tournament in Japan.  That all changed ten days ago when, thanks to his 3rd place finish at Q school, he was offered a start in the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea. Its a US$1m event.Carding a two round total of 7 under he comfortably made the cut inside the top ten."it's going good in Korea for once!  The course has thick rough.  No run at all, its all carry.  Playing a bit like US greens and pin positions are more normal.  The other Korean events I have played the courses had madly steep greens and putting is an art form! If you miss you can easily be further away.""Looking to attack a bit this weekend!"At the time of this post Trav was leading the tournament on 11 under par through 6 holes. He is one shot ahead of Korean Sanghyun Park.Check out the leaderboard. 

Second Place at Sanctuary Cove

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Ahead of defending his Championship title in the Northern Territory Travis accepted an invitation to play in the Sanctuary Cove Shoot Out.The format of the competition is unusual.  Nineteen players start with one being eliminated every hole. Ties on each hole are decided by a "chip off".Trav survived this 8 hour long "atomic" matchplay right through to the final hole where Adam Blyth took the honours.Read the full story on the PGA's site

Top 20 finish at Fiji International

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FIJI2018Scoring 71, 70, 72 and 73 for a 2 under tournament total Travis finished tied 18.  This follows his top 20 finish in Thailand last week.Eventual winner was Gaganjeet Bhullar on 14 under. He held off a barnstorming finish by Anthony Quayle who shot a 9 under final round to finish second, one shot behind.  Quayle bagged two eagles."I did it tough on the weekend. I didn’t hit it as good and the wind just threw my ball around. To come out and only shoot +1 on the final day, well, I’m okay with that.""It could have been a lot worse! Solid week. Really feel that my game is trending up."Trav next tees up on 16 August to defend his 2017 NT Championship win.

Top 20 finish at Royal Cup

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Travis shot rounds of 68, 68, 69 and 71 to finish at 4 under the card and T14 at the US$500,000 Royal Cup. It was his best finish in a full field Asian Tour event.The event was played at the 6,716 yard Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club near Pattaya."Yeah this is a better trend to be on; made three cuts in a row!" I am happy with the way things are going, putting was so much better.  Final day was tough with the greens being really firm, you just had to adjust. I think lots of guys went backwards on the final day."Trav went into the week end at T13 and 5 under so he just about held that position.Best of the Aussies was Jake McLeod on T2 on 8 under.Travis is en route to Fiji where he will contest the Fiji International a $A1.25 PGA Tour of Australasia co-sanctioned event with the European and Asian Tours. 

Royal Cup, Thailand

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IMG_2125In fading light Trav plays nine holes late on Sunday at St Michael's before heading back to Asia to play the Royal Cup.The Royal Cup is a US$500,000 event played at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club near Pattaya City south of Bangkok."I feel I've recovered from a bout of sickness a couple of weeks ago and I'm looking forward to getting back on tour.  My putting was just so awful in Indonesia I've been working on that, trying, as they say, to find something!"He tees off the tenth on Thursday at 7.15am.

Indonesian Open

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After an even par 3rd round of 72 Trav remained at 4 under for the tournament and tied 34.  Leader is South African Justin Harding on 17 under.  Harding currently leads the Sunshine Tour OOM.  Best of the Aussies is Matt Millar on 12 under."Ohh its so HOT out there.  Could have been two or three under but just didn't happen.  Got an early start tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some red numbers on the card!""Just going to grind it out.  Yeah would be good to do a little bit better and finish this way long trip well."Trav tees off tomorrow at 7.10 am alongside fellow St Michael's Golf Club member Matt Stieger.

Indonesian Open

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Carding a second round 2 under to be 4 under for the tournament Travis eased his way into the weekend.  The cut was +1.  He jumped from T 32 to T 22. The leader is at 11 under."Playing better now, happy to be making another cut as I didn't get off to a great start on this trip. The greens are quick as, maybe running near 12.""Easy to go way past the hole!"His card featured 3 birdies and one bogey. Two birdies came on two of the four par 5's.  

Bank BRI Indonesian Open

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Trav got off to a good start carding a 2 under par first round.  He is T32 with a bunch of others.  Leading the field is 6 under.  Matty Millar is tied for the lead."Been on the road for a while now, its pretty intense so Yeah, I was pleased to get off to this start. Managed to birdie the last which tidied things up a bit!"The cut is likely to be even par or maybe plus 1.Follow this link to keep up with the scores.

Sarawak Championship, Malaysia

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Playing in his third Asian Tour event in as many weeks Trav made the cut on the number with rounds of 2 under and 1 under. The event in Sarawak has a US$300,000 purse. He backed this start up with rounds of 2 under and 5 under to finish 10 under for the tournament and T 30th.  His final round included 6 birdies and 1 bogey.Trav has had a tough start to this run of 4 consecutive events in Asia missing cuts in Korea and Thailand.  At the co-sanctioned US$1m Korean Open he missed the +3 cut line with rounds of 8 over and 4 over. At the Thailand Open Trav nearly made the weekend with a two round score of +1, three shots off the 2 under par cut line.“Recent tournaments have been a little disappointing but I guess it’s the job I’ve signed up for.  Feel things are getting back on track now.  The result in Sarawak was a step in the right direction for sure!”Trav now moves on to the Bank BRI Indonesian Open which has a purse of US$500,000 and starts on July 12th.

Back on the Asian Tour

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After a late call up to play in the Kolon Korea Golf Open Travis is set for a three week swing across North and South East Asia.  He gained the start in the co-sanctioned Korean Open thanks to his 3rd place finish at Q School.  It is a $1.25m event starting on 21 June.Then its onto Thailand for the Queens Cup, a full field Asian Tour event with a purse of US$300k.The third event is a new one on the Asian Tour in Sarawak, the Eastern State of Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  Its another full field event with a $300k purse that starts on a Wednesday 4 July.Trav will be looking to improve his position on the Order of Merit (gained through his finish at the co-sanctioned NZ Open) ahead of the Asian Tour re-rank."Had a couple of weeks off so I am fresh and looking forward to having three straight events. Got Jaime Krzyszcak on the bag so that is a big bonus for me in getting through this schedule." 

Thailand Open

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Trav tees off in his third Asian Tour event on Thursday 7 June at the Thai Country Club. The tournament is a full field event with a total purse of US$300k.He missed the cut in his two previous Asian Tour starts so he will be looking to get on the Asian Tour money list this week.  He has travelled up with his own caddie.There are about 12 Aussies in the field headed by Scott Hend."I'm keen to get out there and compete, game is good right now so hopefully I can get it together this week."He has an afternoon tee time of 1.25pm off the tenth.