Christopher McClain Smith (born April 15, 1969) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

and the

Web.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. T ...

Early life

Smith was born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, graduating from

Rochester Community High School Rochester Community High School was formed when the high schools of Rochester and Richland Center combined in 1965. Students in grades 9-12 of the town of Rochester and several of the rural townships of Fulton County attend. The first class ...

; 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. He was awarded the Fred Keesling Award following his high school career.

Amateur career

He attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, 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 The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

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 The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics. An athlete must ha ...

in 2000.

Professional career

In 1997, Smith became the first golfer on the

Nike Tour Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

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. He was named the Nike Tour Player of the Year in 1997 and also led the money list. Smith has won one tournament on the PGA Tour, the 2002

Buick Classic The FedEx St. Jude Championship, founded as the Westchester Classic in 1967, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The Championship has a partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with the hospital serving as the to ...

. 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. In 2013 Smith was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall Of Fame and has been quite successful in the Indiana Golf Association. Smith held a share of the 54-hole lead at the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Puerto Rico Open The Puerto Rico Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was first played in 2008. It is the only PGA Tour event held in Puerto Rico to date. The tournament is played at the Coco Beach Golf Course (previously Trump Internation ...

, but stumbled with a final-round 73 to finish T10. It was his first PGA Tour top-10 in ten years. In 2018, Smith collected several professional wins on the Indiana Tour becoming the Indiana PGA Player of the Year. He also won the 2020 Indiana PGA Championship.

Personal life

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

Amateur wins

*1985 IHSAA Boys State Championship *1985 Indiana (Boys) State Junior *1986 Indiana (Boys) State Junior *1988

Western Junior The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the Midwestern United States ...

*1990 Indiana State Amateur, Big Ten Championship (individual) *1991 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate *1988-91 ''Six additional intercollegiate events''

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Nike Tour wins (5)

''*Note: The 1995 Nike Gateway Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' Nike Tour playoff record (1–3)

Hooters Jordan Tour wins (1)

Other wins (8)

*1990 Indiana Match Play *1992

Ohio Open The Ohio Open is the Ohio state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Northern Ohio section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1924 and has been played annually (with minor disruptio ...

*1994

*2018 Indianapolis Open, Monticello Open, Indiana Section Tournament Series, Southern Open *2020 Indiana PGA Championship

Results in major championships

''Note: Smith never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris American male golfers Ohio State Buckeyes men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Indianapolis 1969 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen