Jacksonville's Tyler Jones picks Charlotte, shares regional golf title again
Tyler Jones continues to see his work on the golf course pay off.
Not only did the Jacksonville junior recently commit to play for UNC-Charlotte, Jones also finished in a three-way tie for first place Monday in the NCHSAA 3-A East Regional championships.
Jones, who has been one of Onslow County’s best amateur golfers since he was 9, committed on Friday to Charlotte after he also considered West Virginia and Liberty.
“Committing lifts a huge amount of weight off my shoulders,” he said. “The process was very fun, but very long. It was exhilarating hitting a good shot at tournaments with college coaches watching me, but it was embarrassing when you hit bad ones.”
On Monday, Jones hit plenty of good shots, shooting even par and sharing medalist honors in the East Regionals on the par-72 Reedy Creek Golf Course with West Brunswick’s Ryan Jahr and West Carteret’s Shawn Benson.
It marked the second consecutive year Jones shared the regional title.
“A win is a win, but I am not pleased,” Jones said. “I didn’t make a lot of putts. I missed some makeable putts. But, it can always be worse.”
Jacksonville finished fifth in the regional team competition. While Jones is the only one from the Cardinals to place in the regionals, he credited his teammates for his progress.
“This has been a great season with the boys,” he said. “I enjoy high school golf more than other tournaments that I do just because I get to share it with my team. I know I can look to my teammates for help.”
Last week, Jones was named the Big Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference’s player of year.
He looks ahead to the NCHSAA 3-A championships May 9-10 at Pinehurst No. 6. Jones tied for ninth last year in the state tournament. Jones’ plan is to arrive on Saturday and get some practice rounds in before Monday.
“I would say that my game suits the course well and that I am playing my best golf that I have played,” Jones said. “I am hitting the ball as far and as well as I ever have. My putter just needs to get hot. I am confident, but I won’t take any days off. I will prepare like normal.”
Chris Miller can be contacted via email at chris.miller@jdnews.com. Follow him on twitter @jdnsports.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Jacksonville's Tyler Jones shares regional golf title, picks Charlotte
