Benjamin Follett-Smith

Last updated

Benjamin Follett-Smith
Personal information
Born (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 30)
Harare, Zimbabwe
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe
Career
College Mississippi State University
Turned professional2018
Current tour(s) Sunshine Tour
Challenge Tour
Former tour(s) Asian Tour
Big Easy Tour
Professional wins4
Number of wins by tour
Sunshine Tour2
Challenge Tour1
Other2
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour
Rookie of the Year
2018–19

Benjamin Follett-Smith (born 9 March 1994) is a Zimbabwean professional golfer who plays on the Sunshine Tour and the Challenge Tour. He represented Zimbabwe in the 2018 World Cup of Golf and has won the Cape Town Open twice.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

Follett-Smith was born in Harare and educated at St. John's College. He was ranked as Zimbabwe's number one amateur golfer and won the 2012 All-Africa Junior Championship, and represented Zimbabwe in the All-Africa Team Championships. [1]

Follett-Smith attended Mississippi State University from 2013 to 2017, majoring in marketing, as well as playing golf with the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's golf team. [1]

Professional career

Follett-Smith turned professional in 2018 and joined the Sunshine Tour. In September he won Challenge 9 on the Big Easy Tour, its development circuit.

He represented Zimbabwe at the 2018 World Cup of Golf, together with Scott Vincent. [2]

In February 2020, Follett-Smith recorded a one-shot victory at the Final Stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School. [3] However, with the 2020 and 2021 seasons largely lost to the pandemic, his first full season on the Asian Tour was 2022, where he had limited success. [4]

Follett-Smith won the Cape Town Open at Royal Cape Golf Club in 2019 and again in 2023, when the event was co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour. [5]

Amateur wins

Source: [6]

Professional wins (4)

Sunshine Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
110 Feb 2019 RAM Cape Town Open −13 (68-69-72-66=275)2 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Zander Lombard, Flag of South Africa.svg Jean-Paul Strydom
25 Feb 2023 Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open 1 (2)−15 (68-68-67-70=273)1 stroke Flag of France.svg Ugo Coussaud, Flag of South Africa.svg Jaco van Zyl

1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour

Challenge Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
15 Feb 2023 Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open 1−15 (68-68-67-70=273)1 stroke Flag of France.svg Ugo Coussaud, Flag of South Africa.svg Jaco van Zyl

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

Big Easy Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
15 Sep 2018 Big Easy Challenge 9−7 (65-76-68=209)1 stroke Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Dong-kwan, Flag of South Africa.svg Ruan Korb,
Flag of South Africa.svg Cameron Moralee

Clutch Pro Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
129 Jun 2020 Notts Holinwell−6 (66)1 stroke Flag of England.svg Andy Sullivan

Team appearances

Professional

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References

  1. 1 2 "Men's Golf Roster: Ben Follett-Smith". Mississippi State Bulldogs . Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. Coley, Ben (21 November 2018). "World Cup of Golf: Team-by-team guide to this week's event in Australia". Sporting Life. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. "Asian Tour card excites Follett-Smith". Daily News. Zimbabwe. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. "Follett-Smith finishes top of the class". The Nation Thailand. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  5. "Follett-Smith wins in Cape Town to secure maiden Challenge Tour title". Gulf News. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  6. "Benjamin Follett-Smith". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 18 April 2023.