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.
Jones Cup Invitational Golf Tournament: Top Finishers
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Northern California