Travis Smyth seals unlikely Order of Merit title

16 Mar 2026

Media Release:

A desire to play his way back onto the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia has earned New South Welshman Travis Smyth a stunning Order of Merit title and a long-awaited elevation to the DP World Tour.

Successfully navigating four rounds at the Heritage Classic – and Cameron John’s valiant effort falling just short – ensured Smyth has an unassailable lead at the top of the Order of Merit with just one event left to play – the National Tournament, starting on Thursday week.

Incredibly, Smyth did it in the minimum four events necessary to qualify, without an existing playing category and by utilising two tournament invites.

The 31-year-old received an invite to play his first event of the season at last month’s Quinovic NZ PGA Championship at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club where he was tied fifth, played the New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort through his Asian Tour status where he finished fifth again and then received a second invite to play the inaugural ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship at Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club.

He won that in a six-hole playoff against Jack Thompson, giving Smyth a more-than 200-point buffer going into his fourth event of the season last week at Heritage Golf and Country Club.

A two-time winner this season, John, who was No.2 on the OOM list, shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to finish tied 19th at the Heritage Classic, falling just a couple of shots short of taking the Order of Merit race into next week’s season finale at The National.

“I wasn’t planning for this,” Smyth said after confirmation that he cannot be unseated at the top of the Order of Merit.

“I wasn’t playing these events to try and win the Order of Merit. It was never really in my mind. I just wanted to play well, keep my card for the following year so that I didn’t have to ask for invites if I wanted to play Aussie Open or Aussie PGA or any event, really.”

Winner of the NT PGA Championship prior to turning professional in 2017, Smyth’s early career trajectory looked destined for the greatest heights in world golf.

He joined the Asian Tour in 2018 and secured his first international victory at the Yeangder TPC in 2022, yet Smyth always harboured higher aspirations.

He estimates that he has spent in excess of $50,000 trying to crack it in the US through various Qualifying Schools, coming back to the Asian Tour each time exhausted and with a diminished bank balance.

In recent years he has seen the likes of David Micheluzzi, Elvis Smylie, Ryan Peake and Anthony Quayle use the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia pathway to play their way onto major tours, all the while wondering whether he had missed his shot.

“It just feels so good that I’m that guy that played well at the right time and has gotten this break and this pathway,” Smyth said.

“I’ve just watched it over the years, so many times, guys that aren’t playing as consistently as I am, that I feel like I’m just as good as they are, if not better, and I’m watching them weave in and around tours and work their way up and I’m just like, ‘When’s it going to be my time?’”

Smyth’s timing not only wraps up playing rights on the DP World Tour for the 2027 season but will see him tee it up at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July.

The past three Order of Merit winners have also received late exemptions to the US PGA Championship and Smyth will attempt to qualify for the US Open.

Smyth’s four starts matches the four that Nathan Holman played on his way to the Order of Merit crown in 2015, crediting caddie Richard Hallam for helping to turn his fortunes around.

“He’s been a godsend,” Smyth said of Hallam, who worked with fellow Aussie Wade Ormsby for more than a decade.

“I’m not really a player that when I go play tournaments, I don’t really reach out to my coach. I’m not looking for technical things, but there is turbulence at tournaments, obviously. There are times where you get frustrated and you might try and blame your swing and work on stuff and Rich has been really good in the almost psychology sense for me.

“It’s just been really freeing, having him there. He seems to always say the right things at the right time.

“It feels like my game’s been getting good for a while, but when you’re actually out there in the thick of it, a difference has definitely been because of Rich.”

The 2025-2026 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia culminates with The National Tournament next week where two cards on the HotelPlanner Tour are up for grabs along with full Category status for the 2026-2027 season for those who finish inside the top 50 on the Order of Merit.

Order of Merit Top 10 (after Heritage Classic)
1 Travis Smyth 968.79
2 Cameron John 772.42
3 James Marchesani 708.38
4 Haydn Barron 646.00
5 Will Florimo 641.91
6 Christopher Wood 636.36
7 Jay Mackenzie 633.29
8 Marc Leishman 534.66
9 Jake McLeod 509.97
10 Nathan Barbieri 501.21