Last year, Elvis Smylie won at the Royal Queensland Golf Club. So the fans packed the gallery, hoping for a local hero to lift the Joe Kirkwood Cup, but a young Spanish star had other plans for the Australian summer of golf. David Puig came to spoil the party and write his name in the history books by becoming the first Spanish player to win this event since the great Seve Ballesteros.

Seve won this exact trophy back in 1981, over four decades ago, and Puig is now the heir to that incredible legacy at just 23 years old. The 23-year-old David Puig shot rounds of 68, 67, 65 and 66 to win the BMW Australian PGA Championship by 2 shots on debut as a full DP World Tour member. This victory earns him a 2-year exemption.

Puig started his Sunday in a tight three-way tie for the lead and stood at 13-under par alongside Ricardo Gouveia and local hope Anthony Quayle. Aussie stars like Min Woo Lee and Marc Leishman lurked close behind. But the Spaniard wasted absolutely no time asserting his dominance on the front nine and blasted three straight birdies on holes two, three, and four to create the gap and finally won it to 17-under par.

“It feels amazing. I really had a lot of close calls in a few events this year and last year, but wasn’t able to pull it through. It feels unbelievable, especially winning here in Australia,” said Puig after the win. “I was pretty nervous to be fair, especially thinking about the past a little bit. I was definitely nervous, but I kept my composure really well.”

This is a developing story..