JORDAN Smith is confident he has done enough to progress to the weekend of the BMW PGA Championship with a one-under-par second round.

Progression looked more certain as the Derry Hill golfer stood on the tee of the 16th at Wentworth but dropped shots on 16 and 18 saw him fall backwards.

Despite the clear frustration of finding the water with his second shot on the final hole, Smith was not too downbeat as he headed for the clubhouse and thinks he could have gained an important advantage with setting out early.

“Overall, I played a lot of good golf,” said Smith, who was followed by a strong contingent from his Bowood club despite the early start.

“It was tricky out there because the wind was going all over the place.

“It would have been nice to make the putt on 16 and 17 and make the par down the last but I have pretty much made the cut, so I am happy with that.

“We were a little bit behind time because my caddy and I were trying to figure out what the wind was actually doing because it seemed to be changing every second.

“It was tricky but I think I did ok.

“I’m glad I had the 7.30am tee time because I wouldn’t fancy standing on the tee trying to make the cut with this wind.”

Starting day two on level par, Smith lipped his putt on the second to drop a shot early on but responded in fine fashion on the fourth to secure an eagle and move into the red.

Birdies on six and 12, with some important par saving putts in between, saw Smith move to just three shots off the lead at one stage, but he wasn’t able to hold on.

“It was awesome,” said Smith when reflecting on his eagle at four.

“I needed a bit of momentum a bit of momentum. I bogeyed the par-three, the second, and I needed that on the fourth to kick-start the round.

“We just played 18 sensible and hit the lay-up a little bit right and it kicked a couple of times right, which hasn’t helped.

“I haven’t played that hole that many times, so it is just a learning thing.”

Smith currently lies tied 31st, with clubhouse leader Thomas Pieters on seven under par and the Bowood man is happy with where he lies heading into the weekend.

“It’s nice to be under par, be in the red and we can just go for it now,” he concluded.