The Shellharbour golfer was grouped with 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia for Sunday’s final round of the Singapore Open.

After an impressive start to the tournament, Smyth faded on Sunday, ultimately finishing the tournament at four under in a tie for 24^th place. It was the brush with a golfing superstar, however, that he will remember for years to come. 

”Playing with Sergio was great,” Smyth said. “I was a little bit nervous to start with, but after a few holes I settled. 

“He played awesome on the first nine holes and was chatty, but the back nine not so much. It was pretty cool to play with a golfing idol that I’ve watched on TV many times.”

The result was Smyth’s best finish since September and the 24-year-old said he was pleased with the progress he’s shown in the past few months. 

“I played pretty solid for most of the week. My game has been pretty decent for the most part for a while now, but my putter has let me down a little bit.

“This week, I putted a lot better to what I have been. So even though I didn’t perform as well as I would have liked on the final day, I’m happy I saw some progression with the flat stick.”