Jordan Smith enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence after turning professional in 2014, and his early achievements as a pro soon saw him earn a DP World Tour card. His success didn't stop there, either, and at one point, his achievements were even being compared to those of another rising star of the time, Jon Rahm.
Here are 15 things you may not be familiar with about the Englishman.
1. Jordan Smith was born in Bath, England on 9 November 1992.
2. In his early life, Smith played rugby and soccer and he didn’t pick up the game until the age of 12.
3. As an amateur, he claimed wins in the 2013 Brabazon Trophy and the Hampshire Hog before playing in the Walker Cup later that year, where the US beat Great Britain and Ireland 17-9.
4. Smith turned professional in 2014 and joined the PGA EuroPro Tour, where he picked up two wins in 2015.
5. He won the circuit’s Order of Merit that year, which handed him a Challenge Tour card for 2016.
6. He repeated the trick in his maiden season on the Challenge Tour, with two wins to finish top of the Order of Merit and earn his DP World Tour card as his rapid ascent in the game continued.
7. He picked up a win in his maiden season, at the 2017 Porsche European Open.
8. Smith had four more top-10 finishes that season and made the cut in 23 of his 29 starts. However, despite that, he missed out on Rookie of the Year. Instead, the award was given to Jon Rahm, and that sparked a debate as to who was more worthy of the honor, with pros including Richard Bland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Eddie Pepperell and Thomas Pieters arguing Smith should have landed the accolade.
9. Smith’s best finish at a Major came in 2017, too – T9 at the PGA Championship,
10. At that point, few would have predicted it would be five years until Smith won again, but it wasn’t until the 2022 Portugal Masters that he claimed his second DP World Tour victory. His 30-under wire-to-wire win was achieved with an aggregate score of 254 - the circuit’s lowest scoring record at the time, but it didn’t go into the record books due to preferred lies being in place.
11. Earlier in that year, he hit an ace at the Scottish Open which won him two cars – one for him and one for his caddie!
12. He was part of the Great Britain and Ireland team for the 2023 Hero Cup – a match that allowed Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald to cast his eye over potential players for the Marco Simone contest. However, Smith didn’t end up making the Ryder Cup team.
13. The first club he joined was Bowood in Wiltshire in 2005, where he’s still a member.
14. He’s a supporter of Liverpool soccer club.
15. His favorite food is spaghetti bolognese, but only when it contains sweetcorn!
