Smylie smiley again: Aussie starts well in Denmark
But the man who was at that point setting the pace in the tour's Race to Dubai Order of Merit yet has since slumped to 27th -- albeit still the top Australian -- has made an encouraging start to the Danish Championship as he looks for only his second top-10 finish in 2025.
Smylie, who finished eighth at the New Zealand Open in March, had four birdies in his opening three-under par 68 at the Fureso Golf Klub in Copenhagen on Thursday, leaving him tied for 15th on a day when Marco Penge set a new course record 64, a seven-under figure that left him leading by two.
The Englishman produced a blemish-free round, recording an eagle and five birdies.
It was only last October when Penge had to birdie the 18th hole during the second round of the Genesis Championship in South Korea to save his card for this season, and he hasn't looked back since.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year in which he's lifted his maiden title at the Hainan Classic and finished in the top 30 in six of his last seven starts.
Most of the home attention was on local Hojgaard twins - and they let no-one down.
Rasmus Hojgaard carded eight birdies, a double bogey and one dropped shot to surge into a share of second place at five under alongside Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open champion, who chipped in for eagle to reach that mark.
Hojgaard's identical twin brother, Nicolai, holed out for two eagles in the space of three holes on the back nine during his 68.
Jeremy Paul, Canadian Aaron Cockerill and Scotland's Marc Warren also carded opening rounds of 66 to sit two adrift of Penge.
Smylie wasn't the only Australian to finish in the red, with Jason Scrivener opening up with a one-under 70.
Brett Coletta had a level-par 71, Danny List was one over and Daniel Gale two over, while the biggest disappointment was a 78 for David Micheluzzi, fresh from his top-10 finish at the Nexo Championship in Scotland.
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