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SEA ISLAND, GEORGIA | Seminole Golf Club, host of the upcoming Walker Cup in May, played a momentous role in Angus Flanagan’s past.
He’s hoping it plays a meaningful factor in his future, too.
Flanagan – the No 35 ranked amateur in the world who hails from Woking, England, about 30 miles southwest of London – took several unofficial visits to US colleges in 2016 but came away unimpressed with each stop. However, on his way to Miami, Florida, for the South Beach International Amateur, his father, Steve, got Flanagan a game at Seminole, where Steve is close with several of the club’s members. A meeting with Seminole’s legendary head professional, Bob Ford, ensued.
“On the first hole, they had us going off of the member tees and I just hit a 3-wood straight down the middle and almost onto the green,” Flanagan remembered. “And Bob said, ‘Yeah, he needs to play off the back.’ So he followed me for a couple of holes and was asking me about college golf.”
Ford’s suggestion to Flanagan was to look at the University of Minnesota, a northern school without much of a reputation for having a strong golf programme. The reason for the odd proposal was that Ford had long been a mentor to former Korn Ferry Tour player Justin Smith, then the golf programme’s assistant coach and now the Golden Gophers’ head coach.
“I had no idea where it was on the map,” said Flanagan, who is now in his senior year at Minnesota. “I didn’t know much about college golf or whether I wanted to do it, because it’s not really a big thing to do back home. Most guys just want to turn pro. But I’m glad I took his advice because I have a lot to thank him for.”
“When you look at rankings, there is no doubt that the American squad is incredible, but there’s something nice about us going in as underdogs."
John Murphy, Team GB&I prospect
Flanagan went back to play Seminole with Ford just before last Christmas and it would be a surprise if he isn’t back again in May with the Walker Cup team representing Great Britain & Ireland. His 2020 included being the stroke-play medalist at the Western Amateur, winning the Minnesota State Open and going 2-1 during the International side’s victory at the Palmer Cup, accomplishments that came a year after tying for the Big Ten Conference individual crown in 2019.
The Englishman is one of 10 GB&I players invited to the provisional Walker Cup squad who also gained valuable experience at this past week’s Jones Cup Invitational, a premier amateur event on the coast of Georgia. Flanagan finished tied for 22nd in the 84-player field. The two tournaments have been linked ever since 2001 when the Jones Cup was contested as a precursor to the Walker Cup that was played at host venue Ocean Forest Golf Club later that year. GB&I, led by Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Marc Warren, won that Walker Cup by a 15-9 margin.
Much of the discussion at the tournament revolved around host venue Ocean Forest and how it compared to Seminole – two windswept layouts that typically mandate battling the elements but otherwise ask players different questions about their game. As is usually the case, the Jones Cup endured cold and rainy weather reminiscent of Great Britain throughout the tournament, making many of the GB&I players feel right at home.
England’s Alex Fitzpatrick, the No 32 amateur in the world out of Wake Forest University, tied for second a shot behind Sweden's Ludvig Aberg at Ocean Forest on Sunday. Fitzpatrick has now played in three Jones Cups and also considers himself a Seminole veteran having played the exclusive Donald Ross masterpiece more than a dozen times due to family connections.
“Ocean Forest is one of the narrowest golf courses you could have and Seminole is one of the widest,” said Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of European Ryder Cupper Matthew Fitzpatrick. “I much prefer Seminole. It gives you a chance to open up your shoulders a bit and get some length off the tee, but you have to be accurate in your approach shots in knowing where to land it on the greens, which are unbelievably quick. You need a decent short game to get yourself out of some bad situations.”
But irrespective to how the two courses compare, no one doubted the importance of the Jones Cup in a year when the postponed Walker Cup has been pushed four months earlier on the calendar than past editions. All of the players Global Golf Post spoke to had circled the tournament date, and confirmed they would make an individual trip to Seminole if they hadn’t done so already.
GB&I captain Stuart Wilson wrote an e-mail to GGP before the tournament indicating how imperative the Jones Cup would be on the road to the Walker Cup.
"It is important that players aiming to be selected in this year's Walker Cup have opportunities to play competitive golf and the Jones Cup will provide a good test of their abilities against a talented field featuring the world's top amateurs,” Wilson wrote. “Ocean Forest is a wonderful venue and I have fond memories of playing there on several occasions in the 2000s. It will be fascinating to see who emerges as the winner."
While Flanagan and Fitzpatrick are seen as core members of the team that will take on the American side in May, others who came to the Jones Cup were in need of good form to get Wilson’s attention. Ireland’s John Murphy finds himself as the No 17 player in line based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, but previously was one of the 16 players selected to the provisional Walker Cup squad. It had previously been 17 players picked, but James Sugrue recently turned professional and no longer will take part in the competition as he did in 2019.
Murphy, who finished tied for sixth in his Jones Cup debut, spoke passionately about the opportunity to prove himself in the coming months.
“We wanted to hopefully prove a point this week,” Murphy said. “When you look at rankings, there is no doubt that the American squad is incredible, but there’s something nice about us going in as underdogs. About seven or eight of our guys, they’ve just come over from winter and can use the preparation of this event. But having it in these conditions, we could use all the help we can get in preparing.”
There will be other prominent events on the path to the Walker Cup, on both sides of the Atlantic, but few will matter more than the Jones Cup as preparations continue.
TOP: England's Angus Flanagan has a wealth of experience at Seminole Golf Club.
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