Justin Thomas comes from behind to win the Jones Cup Invitational
Justin Thomas
SEA ISLAND, Georgia (Feb. 5, 2012) -- Starting his day five strokes off the lead, Justin Thomas of Goshen, Kentucky fired a final round 3-under-par 69 to take the 8th Jones Cup Invitational title. Thomas, a freshman at the University of Alabama finished at 216 (72-75-69,) two strokes ahead of second round leader and UCLA redshirt, Manav Shah who finished with 218 (71-71-76.)
Thomas’s 69 was the low round of day and included birdies at 5, 10, 14, 15 and one bogey at 12. Shaw struggled with bogeys at 3, 6 and 10, rallied back with birdie at 13, only to take double at 15. A bogey birdie finish at 16 and 17 left Shah with a final round 76.
Ben Taylor of Leatherhead, England finished up in third at 219 (73-75-71) while Kevin Phelan of St. Augustine, Florida took fourth at 220 (74-72-74.)
After finishing up a solid junior career with top ten finishes at the Dogwood and Azalea Invitational, Thomas, currently ranked 12th nationally, is bound to move up a few spots with his win at the Jones Invitational. He will gain 1000 points in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com rankings.
ABOUT THE
Jones Cup
The Jones Cup is probably the biggest of the
springtime
amateur majors in the United States, and the reason
is the venue and the strong U.S. and
international field. The past champions list is littered
with PGA Tour stars, including Justin Thomas,
Patrick Reed, Luke List, Kyle Stanley, Beau Hossler
and
several others.
This 54-hole individual stroke-play event,
inaugurated
in 2001, is played at Ocean Forest Golf Club.
The Rees Jones design opened in 1995 and has
hosted
the Georgia State Amateur Championship, the
Southern Amateur Championship and the 2001
Walker
Cup Match. The Jones Cup brings together
many of the finest amateurs from the United States
and abroad for a three-day competition.
The Jones Cup was born from a deep commitment to
amateur golf by the A.W. Jones family, who
founded the Cloister and Sea Island Golf Club in
1928.
The Sea Island Golf Club has played host to
seven USGA championships. The Jones Cup is yet
another extension of the family's strong
involvement in amateur golf.
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