One of the country's top golf professionals Ben Follett-Smith believes he is ready for the next big step in his career as he competes in the highly rated DP World Tour — former European Tour — this year.
Follett-Smith earned his prized DP World Tour card via the gruelling six-round Q School competition at the Infinitum Golf Resort in Tarragona, Spain, November last year.
The 30-year-old Zimbabwean golfer shot rounds of 70 67 72 64 67 69 in a weather-affected contest which took seven days to complete for an overall 19-under par total l and finish in a six-way tie for 12th position.
Only the top 20 golfers, including ties earned the Tour.
The DP World Tour tees off this week at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, but Follett-Smith will not be taking part.
But he remained unfazed about rubbing shoulders with some of the world's best golfers on the DP World Tour this year.
"I played 13 or 14 tournaments on the DP World Tour last year so I definitely have a nice idea of how the tournaments run and players you compete with. It was definitely a nice introduction last year on the Challenge Tour which gave me a few opportunities on the DP World Tour but obviously this year I will have more opportunities hopefully we can use the experience I gained last year and make something big happen this year," he told this publication.
It was a difficult campaign on the Challenge Tour for the former St John's College student last season but finished strong after he secured D+D Real Czech Challenge at Royal Beroun Golf Club in October.
However, he failed to finish inside the top 20 on the order of merit missing out on the DP World Tour card and had another opportunity at the Grand finale in Mallorca, which slipped through his fingers.
But he managed to fulfill his target for the season at the Q School.
"2024 for me was a tough season and then I managed to finish it off well with a win in Prague and then obviously getting my card at Q School. There are huge benefits from getting the card and being where I am right now is moving forward in my career. Overall I'm really happy with my performance. Q School with six rounds is obviously very difficult but I managed to get it done with the best players so it's definitely something I'm proud of. I'm definitely happy with the way the year ended,”Follet-Smith said.
"The feeling (after earning the DP World Tour card) is incredible, we work so to try and get to the top so this is one step forward and hopefully more steps coming, but it's kind of exactly what I was planning and wanting to be. Overall I'm very pleased and happy about how I managed myself throughout the year hopefully there are bigger and better things to come."
Follett-Smith took part in the DP World Tour action's Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa as well as AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open and finished in a tie for 47th. He agonisingly missed the cut by a single shot respectively.
A Mississippi State University graduate, Follett-Smith turned pro in 2018 and has since won a total of five tournaments on the Challenge Tour, Sunshine Tour and the Big Easy Tour.