New Zealand’s Sam Jones shares medallist honours at US Mid-Am
Erin Hills Golf Club Wisconsin – photo Steve Gibbons USGA
New Zealand’s Sam Jones has shared medallist honours at the US Mid-Amateur Championship at Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin following the completion of the 36 holes stroke-play phase of the USGA event.
The US Mid-Amateur Championship is for golfers 25 year or over and typically includes post college players who have remained amateur.
Jones, who recently competed as part of the three-man New Zealand team at the Eisenhower Trophy in Paris, produced consecutive rounds of 67 to share the honours with American Jake Shuman.
Australian Harry Bolton also made it into the leading 64 players to face the match play tomorrow finishing 53rd and gaining his place after a birdie at the first extra hole of a playoff between 17 players for seven remaining positions.
Left hander, Jones, from Taranaki in New Zealand’s North Island, attended college at the University of West Georgia in the US until Covid forced him to remain in New Zealand in recent times but as a former New Zealand Amateur Champion and the winner several other events in his homeland, the big hitter is emerging as one of New Zealand’s best amateurs.
A member of the relatively obscure Manaia Golf Club near Hawera in Taranaki, Jones returned to the US earlier this year but still remembers his background in the game.
“We have a pretty little country course down there. Manaia is the name of it. It’s 6,000 yards long and we’ve got one greenkeeper that works up to 40 hours a week. Humble beginnings, I guess, but playing on a track like this (Erin Hills) is amazing.”
Former champion, Lukas Michel of Victoria, Australia missed making it into the match play field of 64 by a large margin.
