JORDAN Smith’s preparations for his first full season on European golf’s second-tier Challenge Tour have been boosted by back-to-back wins on Portugal’s Algarve Tour.
The Derry Hill player, 23, secured victories at events at Penina and Boavista as the superb form he showed at the end of 2015 continued.
Smith, who clinched a place on the Challenge Tour by winning the EuroPro Tour’s Order of Merit last year, carded a two-round total of 11-under-par to triumph by two strokes and win the €2,000 top prize at the Portugal Open Championship at Penina, seeing off a field that included Swedish former Ryder Cup star Jarmo Sandelin.
The former Walker Cup player’s hot streak showed no sign of abating at Boavista as he blew the rest of the field way with an eight-under-par final round of 63 for a five-shot victory over Spain’s Jose Luis Adarraga and Craig Farrelly.
Smith was two shots back going into the final round, but reeled off nine birdies to claim the title.
Fellow Bowood-affiliated player Sam Matton was tied for fifth place.
The Challenge Tour season gets under way with the Kenya Open in mid-March.
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