But in this instance it's a much smaller prize he has set his heart on winning.
The 34-year-old Swinton Park assistant professional forced himself into contention for the M.E.N. Open with of four-under-par 68 at De Vere Mottram Hall.
And before setting off for final round this afternoon he said: "Padraig won for Ireland. Now I want to do the same for Manchester.
"I'm a Salford lad and will be great to bring home the trophy."
Smith spent a couple of seasons coaching soccer in the United States before returning to his roots four years ago and has figured in most of the PGA North Region Order of Merit tournaments as well as dozens of pro-ams.
He went close to winning the Leeds Cup last summer, soon after clinching the James Brearley Lancashire Open which he defends at Blackpool North Shore in two weeks.
Power
"I've been there or there about several times but this is the one I most want to win," he added.
Smith has never been short in the power department but he admits putting has been his weakness - until yesterday.
"It let me down in the pro-am on Monday so I decided I had to do some thing drastic. In the end I reckoned it was all probably psychological so I bought a new putter!"
And he wielded it like a magic wand on the superb Mottram greens, rolling in five birdies to more than compensate for his lone bogey at the eighth where he flirted with the deep rough.
Smith's score was matched by Chris Sands with whom he went through his PGA training with a few years ago. "We've not played together since," he added.
But that's not surprising because this is the Woolton assistant's first outing with the North Region, having previously played on the Challenge and EuroPro Tours.
It was also his first competitive round since he slipped and damaged his ribs in the Open Championship regional qualifier at Prestbury three wee ks ago.
The duo are a shot ahead of Paul Bradshaw, from Spaldington Golf Centre.
LEADERS: 68 C Sands (Woolton), D Smith (Swinton Park); 69 P Bradshaw (S paldington Golf Centre); 70 R Green (Bramhall), J Wells (Cherry Burton), N Ludwell (Selby), M Hancock (Stand), J Fisher (Huyton & Prescot), D Brun ton (Ringway), C Cox (Warrington); 71 R Bean (Pryors Hayes), R Wragg (Hal lowes), P Eales (Royal Lytham), D Shacklady (Mossock Hall), G Brown (Gant on).
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