Benjamin Follett-Smith

Benjamin Follett-Smith
Personal information
Born (1994-03-09) 9 March 1994 (age 30)
Harare, Zimbabwe
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationality Zimbabwe
Career
CollegeMississippi State University
Turned professional2018
Current tour(s)European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Former tour(s)Asian Tour
Challenge Tour
Big Easy Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
Sunshine Tour2
Challenge Tour2
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 European Tour. He represented Zimbabwe in the 2018 World Cup of Golf and has won the Cape Town Open twice.

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

  • 2012 All-Africa Junior Championship
  • 2016 Roland Park Open
  • 2017 Chattanooga Choo Choo Invitational

Source:[6]

Professional wins (5)

Sunshine Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 10 Feb 2019 RAM Cape Town Open −13 (68-69-72-66=275) 2 strokes South Africa Zander Lombard, South Africa Jean-Paul Strydom
2 5 Feb 2023 Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 (2) −15 (68-68-67-70=273) 1 stroke France Ugo Coussaud, South Africa Jaco van Zyl

1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour

Challenge Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 5 Feb 2023 Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 −15 (68-68-67-70=273) 1 stroke France Ugo Coussaud, South Africa Jaco van Zyl
2 5 Oct 2024 D+D Real Czech Challenge −28 (63-62-63-64=252) 5 strokes France Maxence Giboudot, Finland Oliver Lindell

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

Big Easy Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 5 Sep 2018 Big Easy Challenge 9 −7 (65-76-68=209) 1 stroke South Korea Kim Dong-kwan, South Africa Ruan Korb,
South Africa Cameron Moralee

Clutch Pro Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 29 Jun 2020 Notts Holinwell −6 (66) 1 stroke England Andy Sullivan

Team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "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.