Jordan Smith is a little known English golfer who graduated to the European Tour this year courtesy of finishing 1st on the Challenge Tour money list in 2016. He previously won the PGA EuroPro Tour order of merit in 2015 which gave him playing privileges on the European Challenge Tour for 2016. If the trend is anything to go by, he will be making his presence felt at the DP World Tour Championship in 2017.
On Saturday, during the third round of the BMW SA Open Championship, he drove the green on Glendower GC's 309-yard, par-4 12th with a 3-iron. Yes, with an IRON. Get ready to see Jordan Smith’s name up there in the tour distance statistics on a regular basis. Watch and be awed:
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If you think that’s the end of the fairytale story, no, that’s not it. He went on to drain the eagle putt and finish in a tie for third pace after the third round trailing the eventual winner, Graeme Storm by 4 shots.
If the wow-factor about that 3 iron shot still hasn’t hit you, how about this stat: Rory McIlroy, one of the longest hitters in the game, used a 5-wood to drive the green on the same hole.
That is still outrageously long and Jack Nicklaus’s recent comments about the modern day golf ball going too far seem validated by these two golf shots. However, ask an average amateur golfer and he will say that he wants a golf ball that can still travel further and it goes to show the level of athleticism that today’s professional golfers possess.
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Jordan Smith went on to make two eagles and a bunch of birdies to give Rory McIlroy and Graeme Stoem a run for their money in the final round on Sunday. His valiant effort came up short by one shot but irrespective of that, he is one for the long run and seems to have the right temperament to challenge at big-stage tournaments. Take a bow, Jordan Smith!
