Chris Smith (golfer)

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Chris Smith
Personal information
Full nameChristopher McClain Smith
Born (1969-04-15) April 15, 1969 (age 52)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Children2
Career
CollegeOhio State University
Turned professional1991
Former tour(s)Web.com Tour
PGA Tour
Professional wins14
Highest ranking56 (June 23, 2002)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour5 (Tied 7th all time)
Other8
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT29: 2001
U.S. OpenT60: 1997
The Open Championship71st: 2003
Achievements and awards
Big Ten Freshman of the Year1988
Big Ten Player of the Year1991
Nike Tour
leading money winner		1997
Nike Tour
Player of the Year		1997

Christopher McClain Smith (born April 15, 1969) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour.

Smith was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, graduating from Rochester Community High School; during his sophomore season (1985), he was the Boys State High School Champion, in his senior season (1987), he finished as the state runner-up in the boys state golf championship.[2] He was awarded the Fred Keesling Award following his high school career.[3] He attended Ohio State University, where he completed a successful collegiate career. He won seven individual titles, including the 1990 Big Ten Championship, the 1991 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate and 5 other events. He was a four-time All-Conference selection in the Big Ten from 1988 to 1991; his other Big Ten Awards include the 1988 Freshman of the Year, the 1990 Player of the Year and the 1990 Les Bolstad Award for lowest stroke average. He was named an All-America selection in 1990 as a junior (honorable mention) and in 1991 as a senior (first team). Smith won the Indiana State Amateur Championship in 1990 and competed in the Sun Bowl Golf Classic in 1990. He was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 1997, Smith became the first golfer on the Nike Tour (now known as the Web.com Tour) to immediately move up to the PGA Tour by way of the "battlefield promotion", which is awarded to a player who wins three tournaments in one Nike Tour season. In 1997 he was named the Nike Tour Player of the Year and also led the money list.

Smith has won one tournament on the PGA Tour, the 2002 Buick Classic.[4] Smith struggled on the PGA Tour after the win. Smith's best result on the PGA Tour since his sole win in 2002 was when he finished 3rd place at the 2004 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro.

On June 21, 2009, Smith's wife was killed in an automobile accident. His two children were also critically injured.[5]

In 2013 Smith was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall Of Fame and has been quite successful in the Indiana Golf Association.[6] In 2018 Smith collected another professional win in the Indiana PGA Indianapolis Open.

Smith held a share of the 54-hole lead at the 2015 Puerto Rico Open, but stumbled with a final-round 73 to finish T10. It was his first PGA Tour top-10 in ten years.

Amateur wins (13)[]

  • 1985 IHSAA Boys State Championship[2]
  • 1985 Indiana (Boys) State Junior
  • 1986 Indiana (Boys) State Junior
  • 1988 Western Junior
  • 1990 Indiana State Amateur, Big Ten Championship (individual)
  • 1991 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate
  • 1988-91 Six additional intercollegiate events

Professional wins (14)[]

PGA Tour wins (1)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 Jun 9, 2002 Buick Classic −12 (66-69-67-70=272) 2 strokes United States David Gossett, United States Pat Perez,
United States Loren Roberts

Buy.com Tour wins (5)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 23, 1995 Nike Gateway Classic −13 (68-65-70=203)* Playoff Canada Glen Hnatiuk
2 Aug 6, 1995 Nike Dakota Dunes Open −16 (70-69-66-67=272) 1 stroke United States , United States Clarence Rose
3 Jun 1, 1997 Nike Upstate Classic −21 (66-64-67-70=267) 3 strokes Australia Terry Price
4 Aug 3, 1997 Nike Dakota Dunes Open (2) −20 (66-67-68-67=268) 2 strokes Canada Glen Hnatiuk
5 Aug 10, 1997 Nike Omaha Classic −26 (63-65-64-66=258) 11 strokes United States Barry Cheesman

*Note: The 1995 Nike Gateway Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Buy.com Tour playoff record (1–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1995 Nike Gateway Classic Canada Glen Hnatiuk Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1997 Nike Wichita Open United States Ben Bates, United States Jeff Brehaut,
United States Carl Paulson 		Bates won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2000 Buy.com Richmond Open United States Steve Runge Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4 2000 Buy.com Dayton Open Canada Ian Leggatt Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Hooters Tour wins (1)[]

  • 1994 Rintoul Open

Other wins (7)[]

Results in major championships[]

Tournament 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
U.S. Open T60 T62 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship T75 71
PGA Championship T29 T53

Note: Smith never played in the Masters Tournament.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship[]

Tournament 2002 2003 2004 2005
The Players Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships[]

Tournament 2002
Match Play
Championship
Invitational T55
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Week 25 2002 Ending 23 Jun 2002" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "State Finals Preview: Prairie View Hosts Boys Golf Championships" (PDF). IHSAA. June 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fred A. Keesling Mental Attitude Award". IHSAA.
  4. ^ "Despite problems off tee, Smith wins Buick". ESPN. Associated Press. June 9, 2002.
  5. ^ "Smith's wife killed, children injured in car accident". PGA Tour. June 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "Hall of Fame Members". Indiana Golf.

External links[]

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