Smith holds nerve to net his first title

JORDAN SMITH claimed his first European Tour title yesterday after a play-off at the Porsche European Open near Hamburg in Germany. Smith, from Bath, won at the second extra hole after finishing tied with defending champion Alex Levy on 13 under. Levy missed a three-foot birdie effort as they replayed the 18th hole, but when the 24-year-old Smith was presented with a similar opportunity on the next trip down the last, he made no mistake. Smith is likely to rise to 82nd in the world rankings today just two years after languishing in 1,619th. Sweden’s Johan Edfors and Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman finished tied for third place on 11 under, while Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and England’s Ashley Chesters both achieved top-10 finishes. Reflecting on his victory, Smith said: ‘I’ve loved it. It’s been nerve-racking at times but I have really enjoyed it. ‘It’s all a bit surreal. Obviously the Challenge Tour last year and the EuroPro the year before that. It’s been fun. ‘I had a really good start to the year and the first aim was just to secure my Tour card, which I managed to do. ‘And then the second goal was to win an event, which I’ve managed to do.’ Meanwhile, Ian Poulter continued his resurgence with an eight-under-par 64 to finish third last night at the Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario. Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas, from Venezuala, and American Charley Hoffman went into a play-off.