By Kent Gray
What a difference a week makes.

This time last Thursday Jordan Smith was chewing on an opening 79 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City. To his immense credit, the 26-year-old Englishman fought back with rounds of 69-72-67 to etch out a T-21 placing in the penultimate event of the European Tour season.

Fortunately Smith won’t have to come from so far back at the 10th DP World Tour Championship after firing an opening 66 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to share the first round lead in the Race to Dubai decider with Spaniard Adrian Otaegui.

The six-under circumnavigations of Earth were two shots shy of the lowest opening round in 10 years at the tour championship, set by Peter Hanson in 2011. While Adrian Otaegui went bogey free, Smith roared home six under in his last six holes after birdies on 9th and 10 were wiped out by dropped shots on the 1st and 12th.

Related: Resurgent Willett believes return to best golf is ‘close’

“I struggled at the start last week but bounced back and ended up finishing tied 21st after a 5-under in the last round. So I’ve come in with a lot of confidence and just went out there and didn’t have any pressures or anything. Just went out and enjoyed it,” said Smith.

The boy from Bath is no stranger to season-ending success in the UAE after he won the Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge at Al Hamra Golf Club to top the 2016 Challenge Tour money-list and earn promotion to the main tour. He cashed in too, capturing his maiden European Tour title at the Porche European Open en-route to finishing 24th in the Race to Dubai with €1.28 million.

Smith admits the rookie success altered his game plan at the start of this season, to his detriment. But he’s rebounded in the second half of the year and came into Dubai on the back of a T-3 finish at the British Masters, a share of 55th in Turkey and last weeks commendable comeback in South Africa.

“It’s very close to my best,” Smith said when asked where his game was at.

“The first half of the year, I came out after a good year last year, just put too much pressure on myself, expecting too much rather than going out and just enjoying it and letting what happens, happen, which is what I’ve been doing the last couple of months which has been working. It’s been nice to finish the year on a high.”

Even par through 12 holes, Smith started his run with a birdie on 13 before an eagle on the par-5 next as his previously cold putter got hot.

“I hit a lot of good shots on that front nine. Just couldn’t quite find the hole. Hit a lot of good putts, all burning the edge and then something clicked on that back nine and they started going in.

“I think you can just take a lot of confidence into the next few days [off the back of the 66]. Me being 44th in The Race to Dubai, I can go out and go for it, not too much pressure. Just enjoy it, enjoy the next few days and carry on with the same play that I had today.”

Otaegui was understandably pleased with his opening day’s work.

“It’s always very good to have a good start. It’s more important to have a good finish, as well. But it’s obviously a very good feeling to have a good start like this, especially the way I played today,” said the 25-year-old, world No.76 who won the new Belgian Knockout earlier this year to go with his maiden European Tour win in the Paul Lawrie Match Play the previous season.

“It’s never easy but it’s true I played really well. I was solid from tee-to-green. I left myself lots of birdie chances. I thought I putted well. Six birdies, no bogeys, it’s always a very good start.”

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This dramatic, skyscraper-framed shot of an inverted glider flying low over the heads of Sergio Garcia and Anirban Lahiri as the Masters champion and Indian star hit shots down the Skydive Dubai runway in May to promote ‘Golf in Dubai’ immediately springs to mind.

Even the mighty PGA Tour has had to up its social media game in light of the European Tour’s efforts in the past year. Who can forget the epic Mannequin Challenge ahead of last year’s DP World Tour Championship or Little Billy roasting Rory McIlroy at Jumeirah Golf Estates, not to mention the brilliantly funny “Awkward Reporter“ at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship?

The Challenge Tour isn’t on the same level, of course, but kudos where it is due in the on-going efforts to promote next month’s Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge.

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) enlisted defending champion Jordan Smith to sell the sizzle of the Oct. 25-28 event and the choice of vehicle, a stand-up paddleboard, is certainly a novel way to deliver the message.

You can enjoy the Englishman taking on PXG Middle East ambassador Claudine Foong-Riggs in a game of “PaddleGolf” at Al Hamra G.C. here:

Related content: Golf Fitness with PXG ambassador Claudine Foong-Riggs

As Golf Digest Middle East’s fitness guru, we reckon Claudine, a former professional golfer turned wellness/performance coach, took it easy on Smith in the 1000m paddle race. But Smith did hole one of (the many) shots from the floating pontoon to a makeshift pin cut 140 yards away on Al Hamra’s 18th green, so lets call it an honourable draw.

“I was a little cautious at first because I had never tried stand-up paddle boarding before,” said Smith. “After a few quick tips on the beach, it was a relief to get straight on to my feet once we hit the water. It turned out to be really fun and it was comforting knowing the water beneath me was warm!

“Once we got on the pontoon, it was a little more familiar – well, as familiar as playing golf shots off a floating platform in the middle of a lagoon can be!”

The 24-year-old Englishman, who currently sits 17th on the Race to Dubai standings after claiming his maiden European Tour tour win at July’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg, Germany, also shares thoughts on his remarkable rookie season and the upcoming RAK Golf Challenge here:

Having graduated to the main tour as Challenge Tour champion, Smith will not be back to defend the title he won 10 months ago as we explain in this earlier back-grounder:

Related: He won’t defend the RAK Golf Challenge but Jordan Smith can’t stay away from Al Hamra

Instead, he’ll tee it up in the European Tour’s season-ending $8million DP World Tour Championship at JGE from November 16-19. We await the European Tour’s next social media ditty at JGE with baited breath but first the focus will be on Al Hamra and the penultimate event on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Oman. The UAE’s northern most emirate will see the next generation of European Tour stars edge ever closer to graduating to the main tour, and undoubtedly marking themselves as potential social media cannon fodder for 2018. Bring it on.

The post Jordan Smith tries his hand at “PaddleGolf” ahead of RAK 2017 Golf Challenge appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Jordan Smith finds himself in the unique position of not needing to defend the title that changed his golfing life but just try keeping him away from Al Hamra Golf Club.

The 24-year-old Englishman has happily returned to Al Hamra in a promotional role ahead of next month’s Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge, the penultimate event of the European Challenge Tour. Smith won the inaugural RAK event 10 months ago to secure his full European Tour card and has cashed in since, claiming his maiden main tour win at July’s Porsche European Open in Hamburg, Germany.

There have been four other top 10s to help Smith to 17th place in the Race to Dubai standings (with €1.078m) and confirm his place in the European Tour’s, top-60 player, $8 million DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.

Sir Henry Cotton Trophy rookie-of-the-year honours seem within grasp but whatever transpires in the main tour’s season decider on Earth in late November, Smith won’t forget his second Challenge Tour triumph at Al Hamra last year.

“I’d had a very strong Challenge Tour season last year but winning in Ras Al Khaimah was the icing on the cake,” said Smith.

“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.”

Smith declared Al Hamra in “perfect shape” to host the future stars of the global game when RAK Golf Challenge returns to the UAE’s northernmost emirate from Oct. 25-28.

“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,” Smith said.

“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.”

Al Hamra G.C. chief Andrew Matthews welcomed Smith’s visit.

“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.”

Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, which organises the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge, believes golf fans across the UAE are in for an exciting four days of drama.

“It’s a great coup for Ras Al Khaimah to have Jordan back as we home in on welcoming the rising stars of European golf back next month,” said Mattar.

“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.”

europeantour.com/challengetour

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