GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — LSU’s presence at the U.S. Amateur Championship is sure to be felt like never before as incoming freshman Josh Jones became the fourth Tiger to qualify for the prestigious tournament Monday at the sectional qualifier at Great Southwest Golf Club.
Jones joins a growing list of LSU golfers who will compete in the most prestigious amateur championship sponsored by the United States Golf Association as senior Jarrod Barsamian, junior Bryant Lach and sophomore Clayton Rotz have already secured their spots in the 312-man field.
The 108th United States Amateur Championship will be held at historic Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 in Pinehurst, N.C., as the week-long tournament will run from Aug. 18-24.
In perhaps the most exciting sectional qualifier for this year’s U.S. Amateur, four golfers finished the day tied atop the leaderboard with matching 36-hole scores of 4-under par 138 at the par-71 layout. With just two qualifying spots on the line, Jones secured his spot in the sudden death playoff after firing rounds of 3-under 68 and 1-under 70 on the day.
Jones, a native of The Colony, Texas, calmly made par on the first playoff hole to join the deepest amateur field in all of golf at the U.S. Amateur for the first time in his young career.
He signed with LSU as one of the premier junior golfers in the country as he is currently the 12th-ranked junior golfer nationwide in the latest Polo Junior Golf Rankings released by the American Junior Golf Association. Jones is a proven winner as a member of the AJGA as he has racked up a total of 20 Top 10 finishes in tournaments sponsored by the organization.
Just last week, Jones helped lead the West squad to its fourth straight victory at the Canon Cup at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn., while making his third straight appearance in the event. The AJGA sponsored Canon Cup matches the Top 20 juniors from east of the Mississippi River against the Top 20 juniors from the west in an event reminiscent of the Ryder Cup.
Jones is a member of the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class according to Golfweek as the Tigers will also welcome freshmen Sang Yi of Carrollton, Texas, and Austin Gutgsell of Mandeville this fall.