SEA ISLAND, GEORGIA | On a day of beanies, hand warmers and hiding behind trees to find relief from the wind, it was a Pennsylvanian named Palmer whose toughness sucked any and all drama out of the 18th Jones Cup Invitational on Sunday at Ocean Forest Golf Club.
Palmer Jackson, the Notre Dame junior and No. 65 amateur in the world, built a five-stroke lead through two rounds and then parred his competition into a hypothermic state as temperatures dipped into the mid-40s mixed with gusting 25 mph winds and misting rain. Other than a missed par putt inside of three feet at the first hole – the final threesome played the opener in a combined 7-over as pursuers Michael Brennan and Caleb Surratt struggled to triple bogeys – Jackson gave little hope to the field with each scrappy par he added to his scorecard. That was more than enough on a day when just two players made it into red figures and the scoring average ballooned to a stunning 79.5.
Although Jackson’s final round was a birdie-less 76 as he stumbled late, his 5-under-par 211 total put him three strokes clear of Oklahoma’s Logan McAllister. The Murrysville, Pennsylvania, native named after Arnold Palmer became just the second player from a Midwest school to win the Jones Cup, joining Canadian Corey Conners (Kent State). Winning the event bodes well for the future: Six Jones Cup champions have gone on to win PGA Tour titles, two of them being major champions.
“On a course where you can’t miss a shot, having to deal with the wind and rain was quite the challenge. … Coming out of a field like this where there are so many great players and having my name on the trophy, it’s special.”
Palmer Jackson
“I think today had the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in for a tournament,” Jackson told Global Golf Post. “I knew we were going to play because the wind wasn’t quite strong enough. Some of the gusts were so strong, it didn’t matter how many times you backed off.
Jackson eagled the first hole of his tournament Friday morning on the par-5 10th and went on to make another six birdies in a 6-under 66 that gave him a one-stroke lead. Temperatures were warmer and the winds were more favorable on day one when 24 players broke par as the leaderboard remained packed.
However, a Friday night storm brought a vigorous cold front to coastal Georgia and the wind flipped directions for Saturday’s second round. Jackson separated himself, registering five birdies in his first 10 holes. Despite surrendering bogeys on two par-5s, his 3-under 69 tied for the low score of the day and only seven other players managed to break par.
That gave him plenty of breathing room on Sunday. Jackson, who did not have a caddie, handled that pressure well despite slow pace of play and brutally difficult weather conditions.
“I set the same goal as the first two days, but I quickly realized that probably wasn’t going to happen,” Jackson said with a laugh, noting Davis Thompson’s 13-under scoring record was on his mind before the round. “I had to adjust on the fly. It’s not easy sleeping on a lead but you have to keep yourself motivated and keep chasing the ghost.”
Most amateur golf followers first heard of Jackson during the 2019 U.S. Amateur when he made a spirited run to the quarterfinals at Pinehurst. He reached a new level of consistency this past year when he won the inaugural Stephens Cup, finished runner-up in the Patriot All-America Invitational and had a top-five result in the Sunnehanna Amateur.
Notre Dame has a modest golf tradition, but last year Jackson helped the Fighting Irish to their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2012. His freshman year scoring average of 70.79 was the second-best in school history.
It was a tremendous week for the program as another Notre Dame alum, journeyman Mark Baldwin, made a buzz this week by making the cut in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“Most people don’t think of Notre Dame as a golf school, but hopefully Mark, Davis (Chatfield) and I are changing that narrative a little bit,” Jackson said.
Jones Cup chairman Jim Stahl, a Notre Dame grad and a three-year starter on the golf team, emphatically slapped Jackson on the back while he was signing his scorecard and could be seen with tears in his eyes.
“This is better than winning the Rose Bowl,” Stahl said.
SCORES
By Sean Fairholm