HE MAY already have enjoyed two superb seasons learning his trade as a professional but Derry Hill golfer Jordan Smith knows it would be foolish to set too lofty ambitions for his maiden year on the European Tour.

Smith earned his place on the continent’s top tier for 2017 by virtue of winning the secondary Challenge Tour’s order of merit at the first attempt last year.

The Wiltshire ace finished the Race to Oman with an impressive haul of 239,985 points, more than 30,000 clear of his nearest competitor, German Bernd Ritthammer.

Twelve months earlier, the champagne had also been flowing for the now 24-year-old as he also topped the year-long rankings in the EuroPro Tour – European golf’s third tier.

As a result of his Challenge Tour heroics, Bowood player Smith has won himself the right to tee off alongside Europe’s elite players throughout the 2017 season, with the youngster already having featured in two events at the back end of last year.

Although delighted with a stunning sequence of strong form that has aided his rapid rise up the ranks, Smith is not getting too carried away and knows he faces an even tougher examination of his abilities in the year ahead.

“I am very, very proud of myself of how I played all year and to carry on my good form from 2015 was just awesome,” said Smith.

“I am really happy with the way things are going with my game at the moment and hopefully I can keep progressing and keep it going into the new season.

“I know I have done well to get here but I have still got to go out there and prove myself, although winning the Challenge Tour Order of Merit will hopefully put me in a good position.

“When you look at the players that have won it before, some have gone on and won majors and the European Tour Order of Merit, so it does stand me in good stead.

“It would be nice to keep it going and the first goal is just to secure my Tour card for the following year. Once that is accomplished, I can look at maybe getting into the World Golf Championship events and then maybe winning an event.”

Smith starts 2017 ranked 113th in the world, an impressive position considering this time a year ago he was outside the top 600, and is currently honing his skills in the hope of further improvement, enjoying the last of the Tour’s four-week winter break.

He spent the festive season with his family back in Wiltshire but is now back in Dubai fine tuning his game before the new campaign swings into gear at the BMW SA Open in Gauteng, which gets under way on January 12.

“It’s good to have a bit of off-time, just enjoying Christmas and the new year. I will be in the first event back in 2017 in South Africa so it would be nice to get a good result there and keep the momentum going,” added Smith.

“After the Challenge Tour finished in early November, I think I only had a week at home before I was off again for the start of the 2017 season, so it’s nice to have a bit of downtime and relax.

“It’s nice to actually unpack my suitcase and just spend some time with family and friends.

“I will just be working on all areas. I’ll work in the gym on my fitness and work with Simon (Shanks), my coach, on all areas of my game just to make sure it is in good shape going into the new year.”