RAK Golf Challenge champion Jordan Smith put to the test in paddleboard-meets-golf stunt

Sport360 staff 19:47 03/10/2017
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  • Ten months after blitzing the European Challenge Tour field at the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge, England’s Jordan Smith believes the emirate’s Al Hamra Golf Club is in “perfect shape” to host the future stars of the global game when the tournament returns to the UAE’s northern-most emirate from October 25-28.

    Smith, who secured his first PGA European Tour card following a memorable wire-to-wire display in Ras Al Khaimah last October, has shot to the upper echelons of the game following a stunning rookie year in Europe.

    England’s Jordan Smith, is now considered one of the brightest emerging stars in global golf. He proved he is just as accomplished with a paddle as an eight-iron during a fun-filled paddleboard-meets-golf stunt at Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah last week.

    Having secured multiple top 10 finishes and a maiden Tour win at August’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg, Germany, Smith 24, has risen to 69th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), currently sits in a lofty 17th in the Race to Dubai rankings, and has guaranteed his place in the season-ending, $8 million DP World Tour Championships at Jumeirah Golf Estates, November 16-19.

    And despite defying the odds with seasoned displays which dispel his rookie status, Smith attributes his glorious four-day performance in Ras Al Khaimah last winter as the precursor to this year’s meteoric rise to global prominence.

    The Englishman was challenged to the unique ‘PaddleGolf’ test by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), Canadian Claudine Foong, a former touring professional and current wellness and performance coach, and her husband, Alex Riggs, a Canadian PGA Coach.

    The ‘PaddleGolf’ challenge saw Smith and Foong paddleboard approximately 1,000 metres from the new Al Hamra Sailing Club through the tranquil waters of Al Hamra Marina, before stepping on to a floating pontoon to fire 140-yard shots towards a makeshift pin on the 18th green of Al Hamra Golf Club – the venue of next month’s Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge, which returns to the UAE’s northernmost emirate from October 25-28.

    Smith, who secured his first PGA European Tour card following a memorable wire-to-wire display at the inaugural Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge last October, even managed to sink one of his shots, leaving him in a buoyant mood on his first return to Al Hamra since lifting the European Challenge Tour event’s trophy 10 months ago.

    With a 105-strong roster of the world’s up-and-coming golf stars due to tee-off in the second Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge in six weeks’ time, Haitham Mattar, CEO of RAKTDA, which organises the event, was thrilled to see Smith back in the emirate.

    “It’s fantastic that Jordan has taken some time out from his busy European Tour schedule to return to Ras Al Khaimah. As Jordan’s outstanding season proves, the European Challenge Tour remains a fertile breeding ground for nurturing talents that regularly progress to become household names in the professional game. I’m sure this year’s Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge will once again shine the spotlight on the next generation of future stars,” said Mattar.

    “It’s great to have him back here with us and on behalf of all his fans in Ras Al Khaimah we wish him a successful end to his rookie season on the European Tour.”

    Smith, who is in the emirate preparing for the finale of the European playing season, added: “I’d had a very strong Challenge Tour season last year but winning in Ras Al Khaimah was the icing on the cake.

    “Performing so consistently with so much on the line was a huge confidence boost and I’ve been fortunate enough to carry that form into my rookie season on the European Tour. Everything is going well but there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think how important my Ras Al Khaimah win was in getting me to where I am today. I’m only really at the start of my golf career – a bit like Ras Al Khaimah – and it’s going to be a long journey but that particular junction was a crucial point in my progression.”

    The Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge, the penultimate event of this season’s European Challenge Tour, has attracted a marquee line-up of sponsors for its second edition including Emirates Airline, the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Group and Al Hamra Golf Club.

    With the world’s up-and-coming golf stars due to tee-off in the second Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge in six weeks’ time, Smith, who cannot defend his title having graduated to the European Tour ranks, believes Al Hamra Golf Club will prove a stern test for this year’s crop of emerging European Challenge Tour superstars.

    “The Al Hamra course is in very good condition; you would never guess we’re at the tail-end of a scorching summer season in Ras Al Khaimah. It will be in perfect shape by the time the guys touch down. If you can keep the ball straight off the tee and stay away from the lagoons, the course can be relatively straight-forward, but with so much at stake in the season’s penultimate tournament it will definitely test the field – I have no doubts about that.”

    The ringing endorsement of the verdant Al Hamra course is music to the ears of Andrew Matthews, Head of the Golf Club: “It’s fantastic to have Jordan back here playing the course ahead of this year’s tournament. We’ve had the opportunity to run a few changes we’re planning past him – things like pin placements, tee positions and areas of rough – and he was very responsive to the work being overseen by the organisation team and greenkeepers.”

    For more information on the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge and The Road to Oman 2017 visit www.europeantour.com/challengetour.

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