The Australian Elvis Smylie certified his dominance in the first tournament VIDA Golf 2026, played in Riyadh with artificial light, and won the title on the last day that the Spaniard Jon Rahm He was second, one stroke away, and faced his rival until the last moment thanks to a final card of four consecutive birdies.
Rahm (63 with nine birdies without bogeys) and Smylie (64 with eight birdies also without failure) fought a fierce duel on the final day to decide the champion of the inaugural event of the millionaire and controversial Saudi Super League. David Puig (65), with an eagle and five birdies, shared 4th place, four shots behind Smylie, winner with 264 shots in total (-24).
Smylie appeared on the fourth and final day tied for the lead in the standings with the American Peter Uihlein. Rahm was right behind them both, just a swipe away; and David Puig, who finally finished in an honorable third place, was a little further behind: he had a three-shot deficit due to a ‘double bogey’ at the end that reduced his chances.
None of the three could handle Smylie’s sobriety, a block of ice and a steamroller from start to finish over the 18 holes. He made almost no mistakes and showed spectacular composure to score a card that included eight birdies and ten pars.
Australian golfer Elvis Smylie, elated with the LIV Golf Riyadh champion trophy
Blow by blow, he gained momentum towards the title in what was his first participation in a LIV to add, at the age of 23, three trophies in his career after the Australian PGA championship (on the DP World Tour) and another on the Australasian circuit (both in 2024).
Only Rahm faced the Australian golfer. He went from under to over to close out the day with a four-birdie outburst that put Smylie against the ropes. Especially on the last hole, the 18th, when Smylie caught his breath with a spectacular shot from Rahm that sent the ball to the green a few meters from the hole and with aspirations of signing an eagle.
Rahm missed by inches. The ball went over the edge and was due to a very serious error by Smylei on the last hole. The Australian had a one-stroke lead and a four-stroke par was enough to win the title.
Life got complicated. The first two impacts went from “rough” to “rough” (high grass). However, he remained calm and in the third scored a spectacular ‘tat’ that allowed him to avoid the tiebreaker, sealing the pair and the tournament with the last shot.
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It was a difficult victory, but the most consistent won. Rahm finished very close, a shot away, and David Puig He was fourth at four, behind Uihlein, third at three lengths.
“It’s a dream come true. I wanted to prove I was one of the best and I think I’ve achieved that. I seem to be very calm, but it’s something I work really hard on. I’m excited to go to Adelaide next week,” Smylie said at the end of the tournament.
VIDA Golf de Riad
Final classification
Par 72
264 E. Smylie (Aus) 66-69-65-64
265 J. Rahm (ESP) 67-68-67-63
267 P. Uihlein (USA) 65-69-66-67
268 D. Puig (ESP) 69-67-67-65
…
276 J. Ballester (ESP/27º) 71-73-66-66
277 S. García (ESP/30º) 68-68-70-71
278 L.
The Mexican also had a great performance Abraham Ancerfourth tied with Puig and the Belgian Thomas Pieterswhile the Colombian Sebastian Muñoz He was eighth, ten shots behind the champion. The rest of the Spanish remained further behind: José Luís Ballester came in 27th place, Sergio Garcia day 30 and Luís Masaveu the 37th.
And in the team classification, GC Rippermade up of Elvis Smylei, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Cameron Smith, won the title ahead of Torque GC. Sebastián Muñoz, Chilean Joaquín Niemann, Abraham Ancer and fellow Mexican Carlos Ortiz finished three strokes behind the champions.
