Jordan Smith arrived at the Renaissance Club with a strong footing in the season. The Englishman fired a tournament-best 63 on Friday, opening with four straight birdies from the 11th hole, to sit tied for the lead heading into Saturday’s third round. However, the Tour pro nearly hit his head with a bunker shot.

Smith’s final group pairing with Tom Kim was delayed by fog at the Genesis Scottish Open, and the two eventually teed off at 6:15 p.m. local time to close out moving day. The Englishman started his round with a routine par on the first hole. Nothing eventful, just a clean start to build on his overnight lead.

Smith found the bunker off the tee on the par-4. In the second shot, he tried to recover from it. However, it didn’t do him any favors. He hit it out with plenty of pace, but it landed right back in the same bunker, not much closer to the pin than before. Moreover, the ball spun back out of the bunker and seemed to come down right on top of him, almost hitting his head. Fortunately, Smith ducked and avoided being struck by the ball. The ball whizzed past close enough to draw gasps from the audience before it settled well short of the hole.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

Before 2026 Scottish Open, in Which Tournament Scheffler Last Missed the Cut?

2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship2023 Memorial Tournament2021 Players Championship2024 Genesis Scottish Open

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

The DP World Tour shared the official clip on their account as the commentators warned Smith to watch his head. It was a really close call.

Despite that, to his credit, Smith did not let the scare rattle him into further disaster. His fourth shot from close range checked up beautifully, tracking to within a few feet of the flag on the right side of the green. He converted from close range, but damage from the two visits to the same bunker was already done. He ended up carding a bogey five on the par-four second, dropping a shot after a hot start to the weekend.

The rest of Smith’s round has been a bag of inconsistency. He bounced back nicely, picking up a birdie on the par-3 fifth hole and adding another on the par-5 seventh. Through seven holes of round three, Smith sits at one under for the day and 10 under for the tournament, tied for third. The bunker mishap on the second was a blemish, and he has moved quickly past it.

That said, Smith’s 2026 has been building towards a good performance at the Genesis Scottish Open. His best finish of the year came at the Valspar Championship, where he finished solo third during the Florida swing. From there, he has steadily worked his way into more contention as the summer major season has unfolded.