JORDAN Smith has set his sights on a top-20 finish at this week’s BMW PGA Championship as the Wiltshire golfer prepares for his second crack at the European Tour’s flagship event.

Bowood player Smith finished in a tie for 40th place last year during his impressive debut season on the Tour.

Twelve months on, the 25-year-old returns to Wentworth with a maiden title under his belt after victory at the European Open in Germany last July.

A stellar field will assemble in Surrey when the tournament gets under way this morning – led by four-time Major champion Rory McIlroy – and Derry Hill man Smith hopes to contend towards the top end of the leaderboard.

“This is a week you always look forward to. It is one of the best of the year,” said Smith, who won the European Challenge Tour Order of Merit in 2016.

“You spend a lot of time travelling on the Tour, so it is nice to be back home for a bit and see the family and members from the golf club at the course.

“You get the likes of Rory and the guys who are based in the US come back. With those guys, the fans get bigger and louder and it makes the whole week more exciting.

“Last year, I went out and had fun. I had a bit of a disappointing last day, but apart from that, I played solid and enjoyed the whole week.

“A top-20 finish would be nice this week, I would be very happy with that. Anything above that would be a bonus.

“I am really looking forward to it and will just look to go out and enjoy it.”

Smith will tee off at Wentworth content that his game is in good shape after shaking off a sluggish start to the season.

After making the cut just three times in his first seven events of the 2018 campaign, Smith has featured over the weekend in each of his last three tournaments.

A superb tied third finish at the China Open in late April thanks to stunning final round is also still fresh in the memory.

“My game is not far off, it is close to where I want it to be. I just need a couple of good days first up and it will be fine,” said Smith.

“It was nice to get that good result in China under my belt because it had been a bit of a slow start to the year. I will look to try to build on that and keep it going.

“It was always likely that I was going to have a bit of a downfall from the year I had last year and of course it has been a bit of a disappointing start, but there are still two-thirds of the year left, so still lots of golf and lots of chances.”

Smith was due off at 7.40am this morning alongside Italy's Matteo Manassero and Scotland's Scott Jamieson.