There must be something in the name Jordan. Englishman Jordan Smith, hoping to follow in the footsteps of former world No1 Jordan Spieth, all but ensured himself a European Tour card by winning the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah 2016 Golf Challenge on Saturday.
At Al Hamra Golf Club, a dramatic late surge on the back nine gave Smith a second European Challenge Tour win of the year and secured him the top spot in the Road to Oman ranking heading into the season finale next week.
The 23-year-old Englishman made four birdies in five holes to take a one-shot lead down the final hole, and a steady par helped him beat José-Filipe Lima to the top prize. Smith shot a final-round 66 for a 20-under par total.
“I’m over the moon to be honest, really happy,” he said. “I missed the last two cuts but I knew my game was there or thereabouts and I actually played really well last Friday in China so I wasn’t far away.
“I just came out this week and relaxed, took my mind of things, and gave it my all, and it all paid off today – the course suited my eye and I really enjoyed it, and of course I’m delighted with the end result.
“It feels very similar to that win in Egypt – Ras Al Khaimah and this course remind me a lot of that week, which is probably a good thing. I sweat just as much as anybody else but the heat seems to suit me.
“I did something similar a year ago, winning late to win the Order of Merit on the EuroPro Tour, and I’m really targeting that top spot in the Road to Oman Rankings now.
Smith has now opened up a gap of more than 32,000 points on top of the Road to Oman rankings over Alexandre Knappe, and will fall to third place in the worst-case scenario. With the top-15 players after the Oman tournament receiving European Tour membership, Smith was obviously delighted with his position.
“I definitely want to win the Rankings but I’m just going to go out there in Oman, not think too much about finishing on top, I’m just going to go out there and play my game,” said Smith.
“To be honest I never expected a year as good as this one so early into my Challenge Tour career. I knew my game was in the right shape to compete and that win early on just boosted my confidence and it’s gone pretty well since!”
Lima’s outstanding weekend rounds of 66 and 65 took the Portuguese into outright second and have lifted him into the top 16 of the Rankings.
Former Dubai resident Johan Edfors closed with a 67 to take third place on 17-under par, with his fellow Swede Marcus Kinhult and Spaniard Pedro Oriol sharing fourth place.
(Final scores, par-72 course)
268 – Jordan Smith (ENG) 69 66 67 66
269 – Jose-Filipe Lima (POR) 71 67 66 65
271 – Johan Edfors (SWE) 68 66 70 67
272 – Pedro Oriol (ESP) 69 66 67 70, Marcus Kinhult (SWE) 68 67 65 72
274 – James Heath (ENG) 70 67 66 71, Paul Maddy (ENG) 68 72 64 70, Max Orrin (ENG) 65 70 67 72, Romain Langasque (FRA) 66 67 70 71, Darien van Driel (NED) 71 70 68 65
275 – Charlie Ford (ENG) 68 68 70 69, Pontus Widegren (SWE) 65 69 69 72, Oscar Stark (SWE) 70 69 69 67, David Law (SCO) 68 69 66 72, Jack Senior (ENG) 72 66 69 68
