This week’s Quinovic NZ PGA Championship at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club is Smyth’s first start on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia since last year’s New Zealand Open.

He will return to Queenstown next week and hopes to receive a tournament invite to complete the three-week New Zealand swing at the inaugural ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship in Auckland.

The 31-year-old then intends to tee it up at the Heritage Classic in Melbourne to complete the minimum four events necessary to qualify for the Order of Merit, his immediate target, earning enough points to qualify for full status for the 2026/2027 season.

“I’ve obviously been playing Asia quite a lot and I’ve prioritised that over playing Aussie Tour so I don’t have any status here at the moment,” said Smyth, who is playing on a tournament invite this week.

“I’m hoping I can get four events in by the end of the year and try and at least keep my card.”

Starting from scratch, Smyth could move into the top 50 on the Order of Merit with a top-three finish this week, four-times as many points on offer at next week’s NZ Open.

Top 10 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2022, 2023 and 2024, Smyth has seen the progression of the likes of David Micheluzzi and Anthony Quayle through their home tour to status on the DP World Tour in recent years and sees an opportunity to follow suit.

“Next year I might prioritise playing the Aussie Tour a handful of times more than I have been and try and reap the benefits of finishing high up on the Order of Merit and the pathways out of the Australian tour,” Smyth added.

“I’m just watching guys year after year make the most of them and getting over to Europe and skipping stages of Q schools.

“People don’t really understand. I’ve gone to three Q schools over the past three or four years and having to start at stage one, it sucks. It’s hard.

“Micha (Micheluzzi) is the perfect example. Micha and ‘Quayley’.

“Yeah, I think it’s achievable. I see those guys do it, I feel like I can as well.

“Hopefully starting this week, I can go on a tear and be up there.”

Adding to Smyth’s incentive is the motivation he has drawn through Anthony Kim’s improbable victory at LIV Adelaide last Sunday.

Through playing the International Series on the Asian Tour and LIV Golf Qualifying, Smyth has spent time with Kim and was astonished by what he witnessed at The Grange Golf Club.

“I honestly wrote him off a little bit, purely going off his results when he came back,” said Smyth, who is recovering after a bout of food poisoning.

“What I learned from it is that the power of the mind is everything.

“Here’s a guy that has just chopped it for a couple years, found some form, and just got back to his winning ways in such a short amount of time.

“I don’t know how to explain it properly. The bar that you set in your mind of what’s achievable, it’s obviously way higher than probably what we all set it to.

“It’s just another one of those freakish sporting events that makes you feel like anything’s possible, which is exciting.”

Smyth tees off at 8am local time on Thursday, paired with recent Webex Players Series Sydney winner Declan O’Donovan and current Order of Merit leader, Cameron John.

The final two rounds of the Quinovic NZ PGA Championship will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 503 and Kayo Sports. Coverage starts at 1:30pm AEDT on Saturday and 11:30am AEDT Sunday.

Recent champions

2025 Tyler Hodge (Hastings Golf Club)

2024* Pieter Zwart (Hastings Golf Club)

2023 Louis Dobbelaar (Gulf Harbour Country Club)

2022 Not contested

2021* Tae Koh (Te Puke Golf Club)

2020 Not contested

2019 Kazuma Kobori (Pegasus Golf and Sports Club)

2018 Ben Campbell (Manawatu Golf Club)

2017 Jarryd Felton (Manawatu Golf Club)

2016 Brad Kennedy (Remuera Golf Club)

2015 Matthew Millar (Remuera Golf Club)