100 Years of Men’s Golf: Justin Smith

Men’s Golf | 2/16/2022 8:12:00 AM

One of the most decorated players in the history of the Minnesota men’s golf program, Justin Smith was a key figure in perhaps the most-storied time of the program. The Gophers advanced to the NCAA Finals three times (2001, 2002, 2003) and won back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2003.

During the Spring of 2002, the Gophers were the talk of the collegiate golf world and Smith, a sophomore, was in the middle of it all. The Gophers rallied on the final day of the Big Ten Championships to take their first conference title in 30 years. The following week, Smith earned medalist honors at the NCAA West Regional and helped the Gophers advance to the NCAA Finals with a fourth-place showing.

At the NCAA Championships, Minnesota barely made the cut after 36 holes and moved to fourth place after three rounds with the only under-par round. The Gophers stormed in front late in the final round and Smith rolled in the clinching putt on the 18th hole to cap a final round 69 as Minnesota pulled off its first, and only, national title. The Gophers became the first northern team since 1979 to win the men’s golf national crown.

During his collegiate career, the Franklin, Pa., native was named to the All-America Third Team once and honorable mention twice. Smith also finished in the top 10 of three Big Ten Championships and earned All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Championship Team honors in both 2003 and 2004, years in which he served as team captain. Smith posted the third-best

career scoring average in program history upon graduation (73.16), playing in 143 rounds as a Gopher. His season scoring averages during his final three seasons all ranked in the top 11 all-time at that time. 

Smith was inducted into the ‘M’ Club Hall of Fame in 2018, becoming just the ninth player in program history to get the Hall of Fame nod.

Following his collegiate career, Smith enjoyed success on the NGA and Web.com Tours. He won the NGA Tour’s 2005 Players Turf Classic, 2006 Touchstone Energy Open and 2007 Guatemala International Open. Smith’s top Web.com Tour finishes included second place in the 2009 Miccosukee Championship, ninth in the 2009 Christmas in October Presented by Kansas City Crusaders and 10th in the 2010 Chiquita Classic.

After his professional career, Smith spent two seasons as the men’s golf program’s associate head coach after being named assistant coach at his alma mater in September 2014. On June 24, 2019, Smith was named the ninth head coach of the program. Since Smith’s addition to the staff, Minnesota has earned one Big Ten Individual Title, a top-three finish at the Big Ten Championships, four PING All-Region honorees, three NCAA Regional participants and a pair of All-Big Ten selections.