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Minjee Lee's dual victories and subsequent surge into the world's top 10 has seen her pip Jason Day to claim the Greg Norman Medal as Australia's best-performed golfer of 2018.

The world No.6 was announced as the winner at a Tuesday night ceremony on the Gold Coast ahead of the Australian PGA Championship starting Thursday.

Lee shot from No.19 in the world at the start of the season to as high as five on the back of her Vic Open triumph and Volvik Championship win, which was her fourth on the LPGA Tour.

The West Australian finished with a staggering 13 top-10 finishes in the LPGA calendar year and was fifth in the Race to CME Globe standings with more than $US1.5 million ($A2.07m )in prize money.

It was enough to pip world No.11 Day, who won the award in 2015 and 2016, despite his Farmers Insurance Open and Wells Fargo Championship victories this year.

Marc Leishman (2017) has been the only other winner of the medal.

"I'm humbled to have won such a prestigious award alongside two amazing golfers already in Marc and Jason," the 22-year-old said.

"It's a great honour. Greg is arguably one of the greatest golfers to ever come out of Australia so to win an award attached to his name is really special.

"I've had a great 2018 season and this is a really nice way to be acknowledged for that, thanks to my team for their hard work throughout the year, hopefully we can have a bigger and better one next year."

In a recorded message, Norman lauded Lee's breakout season.

"We have seen the emergence of some great young players, making their name in the US and Europe, and seen many of our established players continue their successful careers," he said.

"One nominee for the Greg Norman Medal this year stood out above the rest."

Geoff Ogilvy says pushing back the Australian golfing summer until after Christmas - and adding a new event - could be the shake up the sport needs.

Back living permanently in Australia for the first time since 1997, Ogilvy isn't content to settle quietly into life down under.

The 2006 US Open champion wrote a column for Golf Australia Magazine earlier this month labelling the Australian Open "second rate" and in need of an overhaul to draw higher-profile fields.

Speaking ahead of an appearance at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast, Ogilvy said his piece had the desired result.

"I'm sure there are people that are annoyed about it, but the timing was interesting," he said.

"The bigger the Australian Open gets, the bigger the PGA gets, and the bigger the Open gets and the bigger it all gets.

"It created a little bit of conversation. Conversations are where good stuff happens."

The 41-year-old hopes to mix tournament play with his work in course design, while also helping mentor the country's next generation and even do some work in the media.

And while he stopped short of volunteering for a job in golf administration it's clear he has plenty of ideas to share.

Among them would be a rescheduling of both the Australian Open and PGA Championship to January in what is a clearer window for international competitors.

It would also create an Australian swing of sorts, with the European Tour-sanctioned Victorian Open and Perth's World Super 6 both in February.

Such a move couldn't begin until 2020, with the PGA to be followed by the Open and Presidents Cup from late November next year.

Along with Robert Allenby, Ogilvy is also plotting a tournament in honour of the late Jarrod Lyle.

"The world is very complicated (but) I always like to have tournaments in January and February," he said.

"I think we should use the Australian Open tennis as (an example) - half of the sports world is coming down to watch it anyway.

"My ideal thing is when we played in February with the Masters and that run we used to have, it was brilliant, it was great."

Ogilvy is coming off his longest professional playing break but is excited at the chance of adding to his PGA Championship swag, following his win in Coolum 10 years ago.

Buying a cold pie from the service station ruffles Cameron Smith's feathers more than a missed putt on the PGA Tour.

It's that laid back approach that has served the world No.33 so well in the last few years and, according to tour veteran Geoff Ogilvy, has him set for the top 10.

Smith, who will defend his Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast from Thursday, is chuffed to hear that but isn't in a rush.

"Oh really, thanks Geoff," the 25-year-old said when told of Ogilvy's praise by reporters on Tuesday.

"It seems like everything's just happening so quickly; getting that far up is a really big step and something I want to do but it's not a time-frame thing."

Australia's 2006 US Open champion Ogilvy will be in the field at Royal Pines aiming to add to the Joe Kirkwood Cup he won at Coolum in 2008.

He said Smith deserved star status this weekend alongside his World Cup of Golf playing partner Marc Leishman.

"He's got the respect of the whole locker room in the US and that's hard to get," Ogilvy said.

"He could be a year away from being a top-10 guy, he's on that sort of level.

"He doesn't seem to be riding the emotional rollercoaster like a lot of us ... that's an attribute that will keep him there a long time.

"Australians need to watch Cam Smith."

Smith said his calm demeanour is his greatest strength and has made sure he relaxes away from golf by flying drones and driving a Subaru that he calls "his baby".

"Nothing quite makes me as angry as going into a servo and having a cold pie," he said when asked what really got his blood boiling.

"That has helped me out tremendously, with how much pressure is dealt on the PGA tour, stressing to make the cut, make a putt.

"To get off the course and just go about your normal life is huge."

Brisbane product Smith is in a positive frame of mind after playing well in Melbourne last week, where he said he learnt a valuable lesson.

"Having Leish there hitting the next shot, I didn't want to put him in one of those situations (by playing too aggressively)," he said.

"I now realise I don't want to put myself in one of those situations."

Falling just short at the World Cup of Golf, Australia's Cameron Smith says his form is good enough to defend his Australian PGA Championship title starting on Thursday at Royal Pines.

Teaming with Marc Leishman, the Australian pair finished in a tie for second, three shots behind Belgians Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry at Melbourne's Metropolitan course.

Smith showed some sparkling form on the back nine, nailing a six-metre birdie putt on the 13th before following up with a rousing display on the par-5 14th when he holed out from a bunker.

The performance was no surprise given Smith's rich vein of form since the PGA Championship at Bellerive in August.

Since then the 25-year-old Queenslander has had four top 10 finishes including back-to-back third places on the US PGA Tour and last week's tie for 10th at the Australian Open in Sydney.

Ranked world No.33 Smith said he felt he was playing better this year than leading into his first professional win on home soil.

"I'm playing much better golf than what I was last year for sure," Smith told AAP.

"It should be good to defend my title - I'm looking forward to the challenge and really looking to have heaps of family and friends there."

Smith said he planned a low-key start to the week after a rollercoaster World Cup, when the Australians carded the equal best final round of 65 against a disappointing second round 76.

"The putter's feeling really good so it would be nice if the greens are really nice next week," Smith said.

"I think the greens can tend to get a little bit grainy there but the course is getting better every year."

Former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, who was on Sunday named as an assistant to International captain Ernie Els' for next year's Presidents Cup in Melbourne, is also playing on the Gold Coast while Leishman will also tee off.

World No.21 Leishman felt he was also playing well but said Smith's putter was running hot.

"Watching Cam, he should be feeling good," Leishman said.

"We're opponents next week but obviously still friends.

"Being the competitive people we are, we both want to win so hopefully I can play good and outdo him - outdo everyone, not just him."

Aaron Rai has held off a hard-charging Matthew Fitzpatrick to claim the Hong Kong Open by a solitary shot and secure his first ever European Tour win in pouring rain.

The Englishman needed all his six-shot overnight lead to edge compatriot Fitzpatrick as the 23-year-old's 17-under par total, courtesy of a one-under par final round, secured him victory in the first 2019 European Tour calendar event at Fanling Golf Course on Sunday.

Fitzpatrick emerged from the chasing pack to hit a six-under-par 64 to finish five shots clear of third-placed pair Frenchman Victor Perez and Jason Scrivener of Australia who had a round of two under.

The charge saw Fitzpatrick move within a shot of the lead with two holes to go before a bogey at the 17th, when he missed a four-foot par putt, ended his title bid as Rai took a two-shot lead down the last.

That cushion meant a bogey on the final hole was good enough for Rai to secure his first win on the European Tour, and the $US333,330 ($A460,700) first prize, after three victories on the Challenger Tour.

Former US Masters champ Sergio Garcia was unable to build on his impressive third round and a level-par 70 left him tied for sixth with fellow Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello and India's Shubhankar Sharma on nine-under par.

British world number nine Tommy Fleetwood, who held a share of second place overnight, saw his challenge fall apart on Sunday as his three-over par round meant he finished in a five-way tie for 14th.

World Cup of Golf winner Thomas Pieters used to fish golf balls out of the water hazards and sell them to the members at his local golf club as a child in Antwerp, Belgium.

On Sunday, he combined with childhood best mate Thomas Detry to win a lion's share of the $US7 million ($A9.67m) World Cup at Melbourne's Metropolitan Golf Club.

The Belgian duo signed for a four-under-par 68 in the final-round foursomes format and at 23-under they earned a three-shot win from Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith (65) as well as Mexican duo Roberto Diaz and last week's Australian Open winner Abraham Ancer (66).

European Tour players Pieters and Detry each banked $US1.1 million ($A1.5 million) for Belgium's first World Cup win and the biggest payday of their careers.

"You play with your best mate and a dream come true; there's nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world," Detry said.

Belgium held off a stern challenge from Australia, who rattled off birdies at the eighth and ninth before another three consecutive ones from the 12th.

However Leishman missed a short birdie putt at the par-4 16th which would have pulled Australia within one shot when Belgium bogeyed the 15th.

"We felt the guys coming; Australia coming right behind us and we answered it with a birdie, so I think we handled the situation very well," Pieters said.

The pair say it's a victory almost 20 years in the making having grown up playing golf together in Antwerp.

Detry and Pieters attended the same high school before both headed to the US to play collegiate golf at the University of Illinois.

"We've known each other since we were eight years old; when he went to America I followed him," Detry said.

Pieters was tipped as a rising star on the European Tour when he won twice in 2015 and again in 2016.

But neither Pieters nor Detry, whose only previous professional victory was on the European Tour's secondary Challenge circuit in 2016, had lifted a trophy in more than two years before the World Cup.

The 26-year-old Pieters believes it will be a springboard to bigger things in 2019.

"I told (Detry) on 18 his drive was the drive of somebody who is going to win next year, for sure," he said.

"I can tell how much adrenaline was going through his body by how far it went.

"I think we'll take a lot of confidence out of this; it's a shame the season's over for us now. "

Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith reckon the upside to their heartbreaking defeat at the World Cup of Golf is having discovered a dream pairing for next year's Presidents Cup - especially as captain Ernie Els was looking on.

The Australian duo mounted a valiant charge during the final round at Melbourne's Metropolitan Golf Club but a blistering seven-under-par 65 in Sunday's foursomes wasn't enough to reel in Cup winners Belgium.

Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry signed for a 68 and at 23 under, the pair earned a three-shot from Australia and Mexican duo Roberto Diaz and last week's Australian Open winner Abraham Ancer (66).

European Tour players Pieters and Detry each banked $US1.1 million ($A1.5 million) for their win at the $US7 million World Cup - the biggest payday of their careers.

As overnight leaders, they appeared to be running away with the lead but Australia rattled off birdies at the eighth and ninth before three consecutive from the 12th.

However Leishman missed a short birdie putt at the par-4 16th which would have pulled Australia within one shot when Belgium bogeyed the 15th.

"Yeah I'd love to have that again; it was not a great putt," Leishman said.

However world the No.21, the highest-ranked player in the field, and No.33 Smith feel they came close to delivering on their expectations as pre-tournament favourites.

"Almost lived up (to our billing) ... to be in the mix made us proud," Leishman said.

"I've never played in front of crowds like that in Australia before.

"Having 98 per cent of the crowd going for you is a pretty cool feeling."

Apart from each banking $US478,000, Leishman and Smith feel a positive to come out of sharing second place was demonstrating they're a force to be reckoned with as Presidents Cup captain Els attended the final day at Metropolitan.

The four-time major winner, who will captain the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at nearby Royal Melbourne, is in town on a promotional tour.

The Presidents Cup features two sessions of foursomes (alternate shot) and two of four-ball (best ball), both formats used this week.

In the more difficult foursomes, Australia produced a gutsy 76 in horrendous weather on Friday before a sensational 65 earned the equal-best round on Sunday.

"I think the way we handled Friday would be more impressive to Ernie than today; when things were going wrong we stayed positive," Leishman said.

"We enjoyed playing with each other and we would love to be doing the same thing at Royal Melbourne in a year's time."

Ernie Els is backing rival skipper Tiger Woods to muscle his way onto a star-studded American Presidents Cup team and wow fans as a playing captain when the event heads to Australia next year.

Four-time major winner Els will captain the International side while Woods will skipper the Americans for the biennial teams event at Royal Melbourne in December 2019.

Els, in Melbourne on Sunday to unveil Australian major winner Geoff Ogilvy as one of his assistant captains, is preparing for 14-time major winner Woods to be on the 12-player American team.

The American side will likely feature superstars Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, former world No.1 Dustin Johnson and three-time major winner Brooks Koepka.

But Els said Woods' drought-breaking win at the Tour Championship in September is proof he can become just the second playing captain in Presidents Cup history after American Hale Irwin in 1994.

"Well I think so. I think the way he's playing, the way he ended last (season), he's up to 13th in the world (rankings)," Els said at the World Cup of Golf.

"It looks like he's going to be in contention a lot next year; Augusta (National for the Masters) is a big one.

"There's a good chance he could be in the team."

Els also believes 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott can qualify and make his ninth appearance for the Internationals - which would be a record for the team.

Els was so adamant former world No.1 Scott would be at Royal Melbourne it appeared the 49-year-old South African was entertaining the idea of Scott being one of his captain's picks.

Cup organiser the US PGA Tour has revitalised the selection process for both teams so eight players qualify and four are picked by their captains.

"(Scott) is going to be on the team, no doubt about that," Els said.

"He's right top of (my) list. He's one of the most motivated guys to make the team and he's been very vocal behind the scenes.

"He's already had some good (results) on tour (in 2018) and I feel he's very motivated to have a big (2019)."

Els said he was also taking notice of young Australians such as breakout European Tour star Lucas Herbert as he looks to fill the team with players with intimate knowledge of Royal Melbourne.

"I played in Fiji in August with Herbert and I played with quite a few of the young Australians," he said.

"If I find a local lad who is really showing form it's open for discussion."

A World Cup of Golf victory would not exempt Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim from compulsory military service in their native South Korea.

But the duo are certainly eyeing the $1.5 million cheque given to each member of the winning team at the unofficial US PGA Tour event in Melbourne.

Korea gave themselves some hope of reeling in runaway leaders Belgium, whose team of Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry fired a blistering nine-under-par 63 to take the 54-hole lead at 19 under.

Mexican duo Roberto Diaz and last week's Australian Open winner Abraham Ancer (65) share second at 14 under with Korea (68) and Italy (66).

Australia (65) are in a tie for fifth alongside England duo Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton (67) and Swedes Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren (64).

As South Korean males aged between 18-35, An and Kim will face two years of conscription unless they can secure one of a few exemptions for athletes excelling in their chosen sport.

That includes a gold medal at the Asian games or any medal at the Olympics.

Recently, two-time PGA Tour winner Sang Moon Bae made his return to professional golf after the two-year service.

Although the 28-team World Cup is not among those coveted trophies, An says a lion's share of the purse is incentive to steal victory at Melbourne's Metropolitan Golf Club on Sunday.

"No, a World Cup would not exempt us but we would like some money, that's for sure ... there is motivation there," An told AAP.

Sunday's final round reverts to foursomes, which was also played on Friday and sees teammates hit alternate shots using the one ball.

An says the volatile format gives Korea a chance at chasing down their five-shot deficit to Belgium.

"Definitely. Anything can happen because it's foursomes," he said.

Cameron Smith has refused to give up on Australia's World Cup push, with a final-round visit from Presidents Cup captain Ernie Els adding incentive to reel in runaway leaders Belgium.

Smith and Marc Leishman fired a seven-under-par 65 during Saturday's four-ball (best ball) round, but their 13-under total means they'll start Sunday's foursomes six shots behind Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry, who carded a 63.

On a calm day at Melbourne's Metropolitan Golf Club, Pieters and Detry secured a five-shot lead over Mexican duo Roberto Diaz and last week's Australian Open winner Abraham Ancer (65), as well as Korea (68) and Italy (66).

Australia are in a tie for fifth alongside England duo Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton (67) and Swedes Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren (64).

Four-time major winner Els, who will captain the International side at next year's Presidents Cup at nearby Royal Melbourne, has arrived in Australia and will attend the final day of the World Cup.

Smith, who was shattered when he missed out on selection for last year's Presidents Cup in New York, knows winning a team event that uses a similar format would thoroughly impress Els.

"I think it'd go a long way ... winning in a team format can't hurt," Smith told AAP about Els, who is in Melbourne on a promotional tour to mark 12 months out from the Presidents Cup.

But Smith is more motivated to lift Australia's sixth trophy at the World Cup, which is an unofficial US PGA Tour event with a $US7 million purse.

"I'd love to get the win for Australia and do our fans proud," he said.

"We've come here wanting to win and we're both play good golf - anything could happen."

A defiant Leishman said Belgium's lead wasn't as big as it seemed, given foursomes can be a volatile format with teammates having to hit alternate shots using the one ball.

In Friday's foursomes session, only four teams broke par - albeit in wild weather.

"Foursomes is such a hard game and it's hard to play with a lead," Leishman said.

But the likeable Detry and three-time European Tour winner Thomas have backed themselves to convert their 54-hole lead.

A modest Detry had to be reminded by childhood friend Pieters that he led going into the final round at the 2016 Bridgestone event on the European Tour's secondary Challenge circuit.

"You won by 12 on the Challenge Tour," Pieters quipped.

"Oh yeah, that's a good point," Detry responded.

Meanwhile, American drawcards Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley carded a 66 on Saturday but at five under are effectively out of the tournament.