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NAPLES, FLORIDA | Benjamin Jones, the highly regarded 21-year-old from Northamptonshire County, England, is prepared to finally play meaningful tournament golf after his schedule was impacted significantly by the pandemic.
That meaningful tournament golf will be of the professional variety soon. After competing in last week’s Terra Cotta Invitational and next week’s Walker Cup, both events in Florida, Jones intends to turn pro and leave behind a record that saw him rise as high as No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
“I obviously have plans in the back of my mind with a whole schedule laid out, and I will be going back home to play the EuroPro Tour to try and get my Challenge Tour card,” Jones told Global Golf Post. “Hopefully I will work my way up in the next year. But I am definitely turning pro after the Walker Cup.”
Before finishing tied for seventh in the Terra Cotta, Jones had not registered a start in an official WAGR event for almost six months – his last appearance coming last September at the European Amateur Championship in Switzerland. He spent the better part of 2021 already practicing on a near-daily basis, first in Dubai and then in Florida, but circumstances around the pandemic hindered his participation in tournaments. Jones had a positive COVID-19 test prior to the Jones Cup Invitational in February that forced him to withdraw, a bad break that came on the heels of not competing in a trio of Australian events he has enjoyed playing the previous two years.
“I definitely would have played a lot more tournaments had it not been for the pandemic,” Jones said. “There might be some level of rust, which I think I’ve hopefully shaken off this week at Terra Cotta, but I think as soon as I get to the Walker Cup that I will get straight back into the swing of things.”
The GB&I squad will come into the Walker Cup split in terms of competitive seasoning on the path to Seminole Golf Club, the biennial match taking place May 8-9 on the revered Donald Ross gem. Barclay Brown, Alex Fitzpatrick, Angus Flanagan, John Murphy and Mark Power – all attending U.S. colleges – have each competed in at least six events. Jack Dyer, now finished with his college career in the United States, has played in five while based in South Africa. But Jones, Matty Lamb, Joe Long and Ben Schmidt have played in very few WAGR-official events to this point.
“I would say I’m a chilled-out character, really.”
Ben Jones
Fitzpatrick, seen by many as the best player on the team, had mixed feelings about a selection process that put more weight on rankings rather than current form.
“I personally would think that you would pick players based on if they have been playing or not,” Fitzpatrick said. “I know I would play much better having played for the past six months instead of not playing at all. That’s just my opinion. … It’s difficult as a selector, because if you don’t look at rankings then people will complain, but if you do look at rankings, people will still complain. I do feel sorry for them.”
Although not everyone agrees how the team should be selected, Jones was viewed as a likely pick before the pandemic when he had consecutive top-10 finishes at the South Beach International Amateur, Australian Master of the Amateurs and Australian Amateur. He reached the semifinals of the Amateur Championship in 2019, finishing third at the European Amateur a week later. He bulldozed his way to victory in the Duke of York Young Champions Trophy at Royal Liverpool in 2017, beating current No. 1 amateur in the world, Keita Nakajima, by eight shots.
Jones eschewed the U.S. college golf system to stay in the England Golf program as his instructor, Adam Myers, has played a leading role in molding Jones’ swing. The opportunities he has received through the program have been a guide for what lies ahead.
“Getting to travel all over the world with the English men’s squad, it really has prepared me for what professional golf will be like, going to different countries in back-to-back weeks,” Jones said.
If you ask Jones what makes him stand out amongst other top amateurs, his answer goes directly to his on-course demeanor. Jones rarely offers much of a window into his emotions as he plays, and that mentality pairs with, until recently, deciding not to hit warm-up balls before tournaments.
“With my game, I look pretty relaxed, maybe even lethargic sometimes,” Jones said. “I don’t show a hell of a lot of emotion on the golf course. I used to never hit balls before I played, but that’s changed in the past year as I’ve gotten older and the body has gotten a little stiffer.
Taking a relaxed approach onto perhaps the most nerve-racking stage in amateur golf will be a huge test for Jones, a first-time Walker Cupper. He played Seminole in February on a windy day – there are more than a few of those on the ocean-side layout – and came away encouraged by how it suits his game.
“It’s probably not a place you would like to play stroke play, but I think match play could get very interesting when you have raised greens with bowls around them,” Jones said. “If the wind blows, it could play very much like a Hoylake or a Birkdale. There might be an advantage there for us, but all of these players are good enough to play in the wind, so I think it will be an even match.”
Jones is far from the first player to make the Walker Cup his final amateur appearance, and he is joined by Tyler Strafaci of the U.S. team in turning pro immediately after the event. However, it will be telling what type of performance he has in the pressure-filled environment coming off half a year without tournament golf. Jones is the first player from Northamptonshire County to play in the Walker Cup – Gary Boyd and Ryan Evans were reserves in their amateur days, as Jones was two years ago at Royal Liverpool. Callum Farr, from the same county, narrowly missed earning a spot.
“I’m just excited to get on with it,” Jones said.
Top: Ben Jones tied for seventh at the Terra Cotta Invitational last week, his first official competition in six months.
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