Ryder Cup contender opens up on needing 'two wins' to make European team

The Englishman sits 16th on the points list, which will determine six automatic qualifiers and play a big bearing on six captain’s picks, and says he is on “Luke Donald’s radar” for the biennial clash at Bethpage Black on Long Island.

But, speaking after he’d made a promising start in the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, Smith admitted he is facing a tough task in his bid to be a rookie against Keegan Bradley’s US side.

“Obviously, I’m on Luke’s radar,” said the Englishman, who played on a winning Great Britain and Ireland side in the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi in January. “Personally, I think it would have to be two wins or a win and a really good performance somewhere else.”

Smith isn’t in the field for next week’s Danish Golf Championship, meaning his final throw of the dice will be in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry the following week.

“I mean, it’s not off the cards,” he added “but I think it will be really, really tricky for me to get on the team. We got off to a bit of a slow start this season, but the last few months have been really, really good, so I’m really happy with how it’s going. Like I said, you never know.”

Rory McIlroy has already secured an automatic spot, with MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka the other players on course to make the team under their own steam.

Rasmus Hojgaard, Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Wallace and Matthew Fitzpatrick are the next six players on the points list, with Smith just behind Thomas Detry and Aaron Rai.

“Obviously the guys on the PGA Tour are playing for more points, but obviously Luke takes everything into consideration and it will be interesting to see,” said Smith.

Playing in the same group as KLM Open winner Connor Syme, Smith opened with a three-under 69 in blustery conditions on the Old Course at Trump International Golf Links, where the clubhouse target was set by South African Richard Sterne with a 67.

“Yeah, it’s pretty fantastic out there. It’s an unbelievable golf course,” observed Smith. “When we got here this morning at quarter past five, I didn’t expect it to be this windy. It was tough out there, really tough and I am really happy with how it went.”

A total of seven tees had been moved up due to the wind blowing at 20mph and gusting to 25mph. “100 per cent, yeah,” he replied to being asked if that had been a sensible decision by the DP World Tour officials.

“We started on the back nine, which meant that we had 16th, 17th, 18th then 1, 2 and 3 all into the wind. But they’d move those tees up, which was sensible. If they’d kept them back, it would have been carnage. Even then, at 18 I hit driver, 7-iron, 7-iron but, if it had been from the back tee, I’d have been there all day.”

After narrowly missing out last year, Smith is determined to secure one of the ten PGA Tour cards up for grabs again through the Race to Dubai and currently sits seventh in that sideshow.

“Yeah, that’s now my main goal,” he admitted. “At the start of the year, it was the Ryder Cup but, as the year has gone on, it’s now to get one of those cards for the PGA Tour next year.”