TEENAGE golfer Jake Bolton is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jordan Smith as he embarks on the Elite Amateur Circuit.

After winning the Challenge Tour, Smith has stepped up to golf’s highest level and hasn’t looked back since with top 10 finishes at the BMW SA Open and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. Both Smith and Bolton, who plays out of Ogbourne Down, attended Filton College and the latter sees no reason why he can’t aim to emulate the 24-year-old.

“I’m looking forward to playing at different events every week and playing against the big players this season,” he said. “I watched his (Smith’s) first few events this year and he looks really good, he must be an inspiration for all the kids in this area.

“I hope to be playing with him soon, or at least get a game with him if I can, he went to the same college as I do, he’s normally in contact with the coaches.

“If I can get a game with him then we can chat about how he has managed to do what he has, how I can improve because that will be interesting to find out.”

Following a promising start in Portugal International Amateur Championship earlier this year, where he finished tied 13th, Bolton is feeling confident.

This was the first event for the 18-year-old since September and the teenager was more than happy with his performance.

“Portugal went well, I tied for 13th which isn’t a bad way for me to start the year considering I haven’t played competitively since September,” said Bolton “The person who wins is normally the one who has played the most competitive tournaments over the winter.

“The majority of the English guys don’t tend to finish high up in the first one because we don’t play heavily in the winter, unless you have loads of money.

“I played well to be honest, I just made some silly errors but I think that was because I haven’t been playing.

“The only thing you can take from a result like that is positives.”