8th January 2023 – Round 3

David FORD (USA) holed an 18 foot downhill birdie putt on the 18th hole to complete a wire-to-wire win at the 19th Jones Cup Invitational in Georgia.

Ford, a sophomore at North Carolina, beat Caleb SURRATT (USA) by 1-shot and as a result now looks a certainty for the 2023 USA Walker Cup team.

The winner will also receive an exemption into the 2023 RSM Classic a PGA Tour event played at Sea Island in November.  

David Ford (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

Ford’s 204 (-12) total was the second best in tournament history, 1-shot short of Davis Thompson’s (USA) 203 (-13) total in 2020.

The final round proved to be a game of two halves for the two leading players.

Surratt birdied four of his opening seven holes to wipe out Ford’s 2-shot lead and entered the back nine with a 2-shot lead of his own. However, it was Ford who had the last laugh coming home in an unblemished three birdie 33, including one on the critical tournament winning final hole. Surratt did little wrong, save for a bogey on the par 5 14th, but could only manage an even par 36 shots for the homeward nine, thus coming up 1-shot short of forcing a play-off. 

David Ford and Caleb Surratt’s Tournament Scorecards (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

Michael BRENNAN (USA), Mark Power’s Wake Forest teammate, finished strongly with a final round of 67 to claim 3rd place on -8. Peter FOUNTAIN (USA), who had been amongst the leading group from Day 1, had to settle for 4th place after a 71 on Sunday. 

Top 20 Results (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

Sadly the challenge of Ocean Forest proved too much this year for the 11 GB&I players who were competing. Collectively they were 84 over par with just two of the 33 rounds played under the course’s par of 72.

Our highest finish came from James ASHFIELD (WAL) +3 who finished tied 27th out of a field of 84 players. Barclay BROWN (ENG) and Frank KENNEDY (ENG) +4 were tied 33rd and U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion Matthew MCCLEAN (IRL) +5 tied 39th.

GB&I Results (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

\Please click here to view the – Jones Cup Invitational Results

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7th January 2023 – Round 2

David FORD (USA) extended his overnight lead to 2-shots after a second round 68 which included five birdies.

Caleb SURRATT (USA) moved into 2nd place; eight birdies helping him to a best-of-the-week 66.

Peter FOUNTAIN (USA) stayed in contention with a 1-under 71. 

Round 2 Leading Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

James ASHFIELD (WAL) produced the first and to date only under par round by a GB&I player on Day 2. His 71 (-1) could have been even better too with two late bogeys on the 16th and 17th taking the edge of a fine round. He’ll start the final round tied 18th on +1 for the tournament and will be hoping to give his Walker Cup chances an early boost with a similar, or hopefully better, score tomorrow.

Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) +2 tied 24th , Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +2 tied 24th and Mark POWER (IRL) +5 tied 47th all bounced back well today with even par 72’s. 

GB&I Round 2 Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

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6th January 2023 – Round 1

David FORD (USA) recorded seven birdies in an opening round of 67 (-5) to take the early lead in the 2023 Jones Cup Invitational.

Ford’s University of North Carolina teammate Peter FOUNTAIN (USA) is one shot further back after a rollercoaster 68 (-4) which included eight birdies and four bogeys.

Ben CARR (USA), runner up at last year’s U.S. Amateur Championship, and Jackson KOIVUN (USA) are tied 3rd after 2-under 70’s.

Only 11 of the 84 players competing were under par at the end of play.

Round 1 Leading Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

It was a relatively disappointing day for the 11-man group of Great British and Irish players who were too frequently caught out by the tight Ocean Forest course.

Hugh FOLEY (IRL) and Jack BIGHAM (ENG), tied 23rd, lead the way after 73’s (-1). Both Foley and Bigham offset four birdies with five bogeys in their day’s work.

With no cut and a challenging test the good news is that with 36 holes still to play there is still time for all of them to work there way back into the top 10.  

GB&I Round 1 Scores (Graphic: Jones Cup Invitational / Golf Genius Scoring)

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4th January 2023 – Preview

The 19th Jones Cup Invitational will be played between 6th-8th January 2023 at Ocean Forest G.C. on the northern tip of Sea Island in Georgia.

The event has been brought forward from its traditional February date due to the commencement of a renovation programme at Ocean Forest next month.

Historically a top 10 ranked amateur tournament it has always attracted a strong field, particularly in Walker Cup years which of course 2023 is.

The winner of the Jones Cup Invitational, subject to them remaining an amateur, receives an exemption into the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic played at Sea Island in November.

The Jones Cup Invitational was first played in January 2001 as a prelude to that year’s Walker Cup match which was being staged at Ocean Forest in August.

The venue is a big supporter of amateur golf with the Jones Cup Junior Invitational, Jones Cup Senior Invitational and Sea Island Women’s Amateur played at Sea Island G.C.’s nearby Seaside Course since 2009, 2012 and 2021 respectively.

Format

The Jones Cup Invitational is a 54 hole individual stroke play competition played over three days.

Given the small field there is no cut. 

The winner receives the silver Jones Cup and the Layne Williams Medal which was awarded for the first time in 2022. Layne Williams was a rules official for the Georgia State Golf Association.

Players

The Jones Cup Invitational Committee invite 84 players to contest their tournament. 

The majority of invites are granted based on each player’s previous performances and their world amateur rankings.

74 players contested an 18 hole qualifier on Sea Island’s Plantation Course on 4th January with Jack GOLDASICH (USA), Sam LAPE (USA), Lance SIMPSON (USA) and Hunter SMITH (USA) all added to the field. 

11 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) are competing this year. 9 of the 19 man GB&I Walker Cup squad are in attendance. They are (in alphabetical order with their current SPWARs): –

James ASHFIELD (WAL) #215  GB&I WC SQUAD
Jack BIGHAM (ENG) #362 
Barclay BROWN (ENG) #83  GB&I WC SQUAD 
Archie DAVIES (WAL) #63  GB&I WC SQUAD
Hugh FOLEY (IRL) #61  GB&I WC SQUAD
Josh HILL (ENG) #348  GB&I WC SQUAD
Frank KENNEDY (ENG) #290  GB&I WC SQUAD
Matt MCCLEAN (IRL) #56  GB&I WC SQUAD
Mark POWER (IRL) #246  GB&I WC SQUAD
Matt ROBERTS (WAL) #977 
Harley SMITH (ENG) #162  GB&I WC SQUAD

There are 28 other players in the SPWAR Top 100 competing (in rank order): –

Caleb SURRAT (USA) #3   USA WC SQUAD
Gordon SARGENT (USA) #4  USA WC SQUAD
David FORD (USA) #5  USA WC SQUAD
Austin GREASER (USA) #8
Maxwell MOLDOVAN (USA) #12  USA WC SQUAD
Ross STEELMAN (USA) #14  USA WC SQUAD
Bryce LEWIS (USA) #17  USA WC SQUAD
Cole SHERWOOD (USA) #19  USA WC SQUAD
Ben CARR (USA) #21
Kelly CHINN (USA) #22
Luke CLANTON (USA) #24
Ricky CASTILLO (USA) #28
Michael BRENNAN (USA) #30  USA WC SQUAD
Palmer JACKSON (USA) #33  USA WC SQUAD
Ben JAMES (USA) #35  USA WC SQUAD
Tommy KUHL (USA) #42
Herman SEKNE (NOR) #43
Matthis BESARD (BEL) #57
Max FORD (USA) #60
Drew GOODMAN (USA) #66
Mason WILLIAMS (USA) #79
Martin COUVRA (FRA) #81
Reid DAVENPORT (USA) #82
Jackson KOIVUN (USA) #85
Drew SALYERS (USA) #87
Robbie HIGGINS (USA) #88
Canon CLAYCOMB (USA) #89
Frederik KJETTRUP (DEN) #100 

Evan BECK (USA) #168  USA WC SQUAD

As shown above 11 of the players selected for the 16-man US Walker Cup Squad are playing this week in Georgia.

Course

Ocean Forest is a challenging course with an exposed seaside links feel. Holes run alongside both the Hampton River and the Atlantic Ocean with marshes and the sea abutting a number of the fairways and greens. The remaining holes are cut through a pine forest.

Natural sand dunes are evident albeit the defining feature is the small undulating greens. 

The course plays to 7,308 yards with a standard par of 72. If the wind blows here scores can be unusually high.

The Club was founded in 1995 by Bill Jones III. His family’s Sea Island Company having owned the land since the 1920’s.

Jones invited architect Rees Jones to design a championship course on the site with work commencing in September 1993. Some renovation work was subsequently done by Rees Jones in 2007. Beau Welling Design have been instructed for the 2023 work which will involve refreshing the tees, greens and bunkers.

President George H. Bush, Bill Jones III, former U.S. attorney general Griffin Bell, David Love III and Rees Jones played the opening round in Spring 1995. 

The course was awarded the 2001 Walker Cup shortly after opening. At just 6 years old it remains the youngest club to be afforded this honour. Peter McEvoy led GB&I to a convincing 15-9 victory.

Weather Forecast (as at 4th January)

Cool but sunny weather is expected this week with thankfully moderate breezes.

Fri 6th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 11 mph NW / Temp. Min. 3°C, Max. 16°C.
Sat 7th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 8 mph N / Temp. Min. 6°C, Max. 17°C.
Sun 8th Jan. – Sunny / Wind 9 mph E / Temp. Min. 9°C, Max. 21°C.

2022 Jones Cup Invitational

Palmer JACKSON (USA) won the 2022 Jones Cup Invitational by 3-shots from Logan MCALLISTER (USA). They were the only two players in the field to finish under par.

Palmer Jackson (Photo: Jones Cup Invitational)

2022 saw a small GB&I entry with John GOUGH (ENG) +4 our highest finisher in tied 7th.

Dan BRADBURY (ENG) +12 finished tied 34th, Mark POWER (IRL) +17 tied 48th, Matt ROBERTS (WAL) +24 tied 72nd, Luke HARRIES (WAL) +25 tied 75th and James ASHFIELD (WAL) +33 82nd.

Click here to view the full – Jones Cup Invitational 2022 Results

Here is a list of the past winners with their finishing scores: –

2022 – Palmer JACKSON (USA) 211 (-5)
2021 – Ludvig ÅBERG (SWE) 214 (-2)
2020 – Davis THOMPSON (USA) 203 (-13)
2019 – Akshay BHATIA (USA) 142 (-2) – event shortened to 36 holes due to bad weather
2018 – Garrett BARBER (USA) 212 (-4) – winner of the Jones Cup Junior Invitational in 2016
2017 – Braden THORNBERRY (USA) 212 (-4)
2016 – Beau HOSSLER (USA) 214 (-2)
2015 – Austen CONNELLY (USA) 216 (Ev) 
2014 – Corey CONNORS (CAN) 218 (+2)
2013 – Sean DALE (USA) 213 (-3)
2012 – Justin THOMAS (USA) 216 (Ev)
2011 – John PETERSON (USA) 217 (+1)
2010 – Patrick READ (USA) 222 (+6)
2009 – Kyle STANLEY (USA) 217 (+1)
2007 – Luke LIST (USA) 206 (-10) – played at Frederica G.C. due to renovation work at Ocean Forest
2005 – Nicholas THOMPSON (USA) 214 (-2)
2003 – Gregg JONES (USA) 211 (-5)
2001 – DJ TRAHAN (USA) 210 (-6)

Canada’s Corey Connors and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg are the only non-American winners of the Jones Cup Invitational.

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