Jackson Herrington hugs his caddie, Collins Banks, after his Round of 32 win at the U.S. Amateur
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Jackson Herrington hits his tee shot on No. 4 in his Round of 32 match
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Cameron Tankersley follows the flight of his shot in Thursday's Round of 32 match
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Jackson Herrington lines up a putt in his early match on Thursday
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Dickson's Jackson Herrington will play in Friday's Quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur
photo by USGA/Eakin Howard
Jackson Herrington was determined to not allow history the opportunity to repeat itself.
At last year’s U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club, the Dickson native rallied from a 2-down deficit with four holes remaining with a pair of birdies to even the match. However, he posted a double-bogey and a bogey on his last two holes, being eliminated in the Round of 32 by a 1-down score.
With that agonizing loss providing a memorable teaching moment, Herrington again found himself 2-down with four holes left in his Round of 16 match with Michigan’s Caleb Bond on Thursday afternoon at The Olympic Club in San Francisco in the 125th edition of the U.S. Amateur.
But this time, the outcome would be different. The hefty lefty has proven that he has plenty of guile and determination to go with the wisdom gained from his past disappointments.
The University of Tennessee sophomore birdied 15 and won with a par at 16, and the duo halved the next two holes with pars to extend the match. Play flipped back to the 9th hole where Herrington had a golden opportunity to close the match, but his eight-footer burned the edge of the cup.
But on the 20th hole – played on the par 4 10th – Herrington managed a par from the rough after missing the fairway with his drive. Bond, a senior at Michigan State, then misfired his par attempt from five-feet, giving Herrington the win and a berth in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Bond had taken a 2-up lead after Herrington bogeyed his first two holes, but winners on the next three holes gave Herrington a 1-up edge. It would take ten holes for Herrington to win his next hole as Bond picked up three wins with a birdie and two pars. But Herrington’s clutch birdie at the short 113-yard par-3 15th followed by a par on the massive 622-yard par-5 16th set the stage for his late moment of redemption.
The 37th seeded Herrington’s opponent in the quarterfinals is Jimmy Abdo, a rising sophomore at Division III Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, who was the 61st seed and ranked No. 4,292 in the world amateur rankings. The match is scheduled to tee off at 1:45 PDT.
Earlier in his Round of 32 match, Herrington took a 3-up lead after six holes against Brady Siravo of Sacramento, Calif. and never lost a hole. He went 4-up with a par at 11, then halved the next four holes with pars to win 4 & 3.
Herrington’s former high school teammate at Dickson County, Cameron Tankersley, wasn’t as fortunate in his Round of 32 match Thursday morning against Jacob Modleski of Noblesville, Ind. Tankersley entered the 16th hole all-square, but bogeys on the next two holes coupled with birdies from Modleski led to a 2 & 1 defeat.
The evenly-contested match saw Tankersley pull even after being 1-down on two occasions, with 11 holes ending in a draw. But mistakes on the back-to-back par 5s at 16 and 17 ended the Ole Miss senior’s time in the Bay Area.
In Friday’s other quarterfinal matches, 49th seeded Niall Shiels Donegan of Scotland takes on No. 56 Modleski after his 1-up win over top-seeded Preston Stout of Dallas. John Daly II, seeded 26th and the son of two-time PGA Tour major winner John Daly, faces No. 63 Mason Howell of Thomasville, Ga., while 3rd-seeded Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. will face No. 11 Eric Lee of Fullerton, Calif.
For complete results, go to U.S.Amateur.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com