The February issue of Golf Australia magazine had been well and truly “put to bed”, as we say in the trade, when the man from The Times, Tom Kershaw, scooped everyone and dropped a bomb: Elvis had left the building.

Along with Belgian Thomas Detry, Kershaw reported that Australian golf’s “Next Big Thing”, Elvis Smylie, had signed with LIV Golf, presumably, though it had yet to be confirmed, joining Cam Smith’s all-Aussie Ripper GC and replacing Matt Jones.

Good idea? Bad idea? It depends who you ask in the polemical way of modern discourse, particularly around the schism in professional golf.

Golf Australia magazine is in the unique position of being able to ask our Architecture Editor, Mike Clayton, who is also Smylie’s long-time mentor and former caddie.

In a feature piece in our March issue - on shelves Monday February 16, subscribe now and give the gift of Golfmas - Clayton reveals that in their first phone call following Smylie's signing, the conversation went:

"I hope they paid you a lot." Clayton said.

"They did," Smylie said.

PLUS...

Cam Smith: golf world set to be all shook up by Elvis

Victorious and laden with millions of dollars, Elvis Smylie is returning home to Australia for his second LIV event this week, with the country's most illustrious golfer hailing him as a future world No.1.

Clayton says that Smylie is part of a generation with a chance of being the number one player in the world. Yet the former European Tour player remains unconvinced that LIV Golf, as it stands, is the best place for Smylie to achieve that goal. 

“Can you be the best player in the world playing LIV? The evidence so far suggests you can’t,” Clayton says. “But Elvis is 23 with, presumably, a three-year contract. A lot can happen in three years and while there will never be bread broken between LIV and the PGA Tour, maybe the Europeans and the Saudis come together to make a proper world tour.”

Clayton offers a comparison between Smylie and another young player lured to LIV, Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who signed as a 21-year-old and won $US4 million in Bangkok in just his fifth start. Three years later, Chacarra had joined the DP World Tour where, on a sponsor’s exemption, he promptly won the Indian Open. 

In his three years at LIV, it is estimated Chacarra won up to $US13 million – not including sign-on fees or any share of equity in Fireballs GC. 

Said Chacarra: “Once you win, it’s just money ... It doesn’t matter if you finish 30th or 1st, only money.”

Chacarra added that LIV Golf’s limited, 14-event schedule and “lack of competitive pressure” led to him “losing a lot of motivation to get better and practise”.

Clayton can’t see that being an issue for Smylie, however.

“Knowing Elvis, I can’t imagine him feeling the same or working less hard on his game, but we’ll see,” Clayton writes.

“Not many players can be the best in the world, but Smylie thinks he can and is genuinely a part of the next generation with a chance.”

In the heady moments after Smylie's win on LIV debut at Riyadh GC, Ripper captain Smith said of Smylie: “The crazy thing is I still think he’s got a lot of improving to go, which is pretty scary, really, for the rest of us, because he waxed us this week."

"I genuinely think he can be the best golfer in the world. He’s got all the tools of the trade. He just needs to keep doing what he’s doing and knuckle down,” Smith said.

PLUS...

'Dream come true': Elvis rocks LIV with debut triumph

Rising Australian Elvis Smylie has made a dramatic mark on LIV Golf, winning his debut on the Saudi-backed tour in Riyadh under lights with a stellar display.

Smylie described it as a "dream come true.”

“I really didn’t know what to expect this week. Playing at night is obviously a whole different ballgame out here. I wanted to come out here and make a statement.

"I wanted to prove that I’m one of the best out here, and I feel like I’ve done that. It’s only up from here,” Smyie said.