Talented young amateur Travis Smyth has upstaged the professionals with a runaway six-shot victory in the Northern Territory PGA Championship.
The 22-year-old New South Welshman shot a closing 67 on Sunday following earlier rounds of 64, 68 and 66 for a wire-to-wire triumph at 19-under 265 at the Palmerston course.
A quarter-finalist at the US Amateur championship last month, he won from Victorian Deyen Lawson (68) with NSW's Darren Beck (70) a shot further back in third place.
While he can't claim the $22,500 first prize money - which went to Lawson - Smyth earned status on the PGA Tour of Australasia until the end of the 2018 season should he choose to turn pro.
"I am very excited, the future just feels a little bit more promising now that I have my first professional win and I am still an amateur," said Smyth, who joins Oliver Goss (2012 WA Open), Curtis Luck (2016 WA Open) and Brett Coletta (2016 Queensland Open) as players to record PGA Tour of Australasia victories as amateurs in recent years.
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"Following in the footsteps of Curtis Luck and Brett Coletta is a very good feeling."
Making his maiden victory even more special, Smyth had his coach, PGA professional John Serhan, caddying for him this week.
"He (Serhan) deserves most of the credit for this. We have been working hard for the last five years," said Smyth.
Before Smyth contemplates turning pro he will play the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in New Zealand, seeking the berth at the 2018 Masters on offer to the winner.
"I have entered European Tour Q-School, I am going to go to first stage but remain amateur because in between first and second stage is the Asian Pacific Amateur," he said..
"If I win I will obviously stay amateur to play the Masters, but if not I'll turn pro and try to get my card in Europe then come back for the Aussie summer.
"If you don't play well at Q-School, which only comes around once a year, you are out of a job for a year. So knowing that I have status here in Australia is a massive relief. "
