William Sides began the final round of the Jones Cup Invitational three strokes off the lead.
COURTESY Jones cup invitational
William Sides triumphed over one of the strongest fields in amateur golf on Sunday to win the fog-shortened Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia.
The field included the reigning U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur champions, and, according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking’s Power Method, was behind only the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur in terms of field strength.
“It was awesome,” Sides said. “Competing against the best players in the world is always fun. To solidify a win was great for me to see that the work is paying off.”
Sides, a Southern Methodist University senior, shot 6-under (69-69) in a tournament shortened to 36 holes by fog and finished two strokes ahead of South Carolina’s Frankie Harris and Florida State commit Miles Russell.
It was an impressive final day in windy conditions for Sides, whose only bogey came on his final hole after he started Sunday three strokes back.
“I was trying to take it one shot at a time and be really smart and committed out there,” Sides said. “I’ll definitely take a lot from this week confidence-wise going into the future.”
After a first round that started Friday and finished Saturday because of fog delays, University of Georgia junior Grayson Wood took a one-stroke lead with a 6-under 66. When he left the course on Friday, Wood was 1-under through eight holes, but he caught fire upon his Saturday return. On the 18th hole (his first of the day), Wood chipped in for birdie, his first of five consecutive birdies. He capped the streak with another chip-in on the fourth hole.
Upon conclusion of the first round, the tournament committee decided to cut the Jones Cup from 54 to 36 holes. The final group for Sunday’s final round comprised Wood at 6-under, Tom Fischer at 5-under and Parker Bell at 3-under.
Five other players shot 3-under 69 in their first rounds, one of whom was Sides. He started on the 10th hole and got through 11 holes in 3-under before darkness forced him off the course.
“[Friday] was a long day out there just waiting around,” Sides said. “My tee time was 9:40 and I teed off at 11. I played one hole but then fog rolled back in and I got called off the course for another three hours. But when I came back I hit the ball really well.”
The next morning, Sides played his remaining holes even par.
On Sunday, with winds gusting more than 20 mph, Wood and Fischer started slowly. Both players bogeyed the second hole, and Wood also bogeyed the third and fourth.
The door opened for Bell, whose 2-under front nine propelled him into the solo lead at 5-under. A Fischer birdie on the 10th hole tied him for the lead.
But Sides, playing in the second-to-last group, remained close behind. He parred each of his first 10 holes and was two off the lead. Then Sides made three straight birdies on Nos. 11-13 to take the lead at 6-under, one stroke ahead of Fischer and two better than Bell, who bogeyed the 12th hole and lost his momentum.
Sides’ lead remained one until Fischer double-bogeyed the 16th hole, dropping him to 3-under. Shortly after, Sides birdied the 17th hole to take a commanding three-stroke lead and seal the tournament.
The winner of the Jones Cup Invitational traditionally receives an invitation to the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic in November. Making his PGA Tour debut would be a dream come true, Sides said.
“It would be really cool to get that opportunity,” he said. “I’m definitely looking forward to that, especially with this being my last semester as a college student.”
RESULTS
Everett Munez
