Travis Smyth came agonisingly close to claiming the NSW Open trophy. Within hours, he was boarding a flight en route to his next adventure.
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The Shellharbour golfer hopes to use his second place finish at Sydney's Twin Creek course on Sunday as a springboard to more success.
Smyth has accepted an invitation to compete in the Mauritius Open starting this Thursday. The tournament is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Sunshine Tour, and Asian Tour, with $A1.63 million on offer for the winner.
Smyth will miss this week's Australian Open as he prioritises the Asian Tour. He may return to Australian shores in time for the Australian PGA Championships, starting on December 19.
The 24-year-old will be full of confidence after his strong showing at the NSW Open, won by Josh Younger. The pair both finished on -17, leading to a playoff.
They each managed a regulation par on the first extra hole before Younger clinched the title with a six-foot birdie putt.
"I'm obviously a bit disappointed not to carry off the trophy but I'm happy with my game and the way it held up under tournament pressure," Smyth said.
"When I teed off on the 18th in regulation play, I actually didn't know that Josh had doubled bogeyed the 18th to bring his back to -17. I thought I was putting for a place, not the win when I got to the 18th green. The play off came as a surprise.
"If you go back to the start of the week and told me I'd come second, I'd have taken it. It was a good week."
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