Jones, Jackson share Cotton States lead at 5 under
Grayson Jones (Oral Roberts photo)
MONROE, La. (July 25, 2018) – Grayson Jones went 2 under in his final four holes on Wednesday to find his way to the top of the W.E. Cole Cotton States Invitational. Jones, of Tulsa, Okla., shares the top spot with Isaiah Jackson of Golden, Miss. Both players posted 5-under 67.
Jones nearly went bogey-free in the opening round at Bayou DeSiard Country Club. His only one came at No. 12. Jones, who plays for Oral Roberts, has impressive golf genes. His father Geoff Jones was a professional golfer and so was his grandfather Tommy Aycock. Jones hopes to follow in those footsteps.
Jackson had a similar round that included just one bogey. After spending the past two years at Meridian Community College, Jackson will continue his college golf career this season at Memphis. He is coming off a T-36 at last week’s Southern Amateur.
A shot behind Jones and Jackson, Paul Gonzalez is coming off a top-5 finish at the West Texas Amateur final. Gonzalez had the lead entering the final round of that event, but lost ground on the final day. Gonzalez’s 4-under 68 at Bayou DeSiard, however was unexciting in the way golfers hope for: he had all pars on the front, and mixed in four birdies on the back.
Chad Sewell of Conroe, Texas, Charlie Miller of Jackson, Miss., Keegan McLachlan of Pretorio, South Africa, and Kyle Michel of Australia are tied for fourth after rounds of 3-under 69. McLachlan particularly has had a notable year. He tied for first at the Kwazulu Natal Stroke Play and tied for second at the Boland Amateur Open.
ABOUT THE Cotton States Amateur
Originally played in 1949 as the Bayou
DeSiard Labor Day Golf Tournament, the
tournament's
name was changed to the Cotton States
Invitational in 1951 by the club's young head
professional, W. E. "Winnie" Cole. He felt that
the
name better reflected the main states that the
tournament's players originated from (and a
move
to
mid-summer made the name a necessity later
anyway). Little did Cole know that 27 years
later, in
1978, the event would be renamed again,
forever to
be known as the W. E. Cole Cotton States
Invitational Golf Tournament.
Past champions of this highly competitive, yet
festive
tournament include Don January and Hal
Sutton. Gil
Morgan, David
Toms and many other PGA Tour players have
also
competed. The tournament field field is limited
to 96
amateur
participants
having a verified USGA Handicap Index not
exceeding 0.0. Long a match play event, the
format was changed in 2021 to 72 holes of
stroke play.
View Complete Tournament Information