AUGUSTA – A dramatic momentum shift on the final hole changed the outcome of the 103rd Georgia Amateur Championship at Augusta Country Club.
Defending champion Jake Peacock of Milton watched Brycen Jones of Thomasville go on a back-nine putting spree to erase a five-shot lead and leave the two tied on the 72nd hole.
Jones appeared to be on the verge of completing the comeback after he threw a dart to within five feet on the hole location at No. 18, while Peacock’s approach left him with a difficult 30-foot putt.
Peacock putted first and firmly stroked his birdie effort up the hill, where it steamed into the cup. Seconds later, Jones left his putt out to the left, allowing Peacock to hoist the Robert H. Martin Trophy for the second straight year.
“When we got to the green, he looked at me and said, ‘I’m going to make this putt,’” said Jackson Enebertg, Peacock’s lifelong best friend and caddie. “I just said ‘Trust it.’ And he made it.”
Peacock, who will be a senior this fall at South Florida, shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday and finished 13-under 278, while Jones, who will be a sophomore at Georgia Southern, shot 68 – matching the low score of the day – to finish at 12-under 279.
R.B. Clyburn of Cartersville (68) and Hayes Brown (70), an Atlanta native who plays at Wofford, tied for third at 8 under. William Love of Atlanta (70), the 2022 Georgia Am champion, and lefthander Cooper Tendick of Kennesaw (73), who plays at West Florida, tied for fifth at 7 under.
“I’m still trying to digest that, that finish there,” Peacock said. “It was an unbelievable battle. Brycen definitely did not make it easy, the way it went back and forth all day. But that’s exactly what you dream of, to put yourself in that situation and make that bomb on the 18th to seal the deal was pretty special.”
Peacock becomes the first player to defend their Georgia Amateur title since Russell Henley went back-to-back in 2008-09. Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Allen Doyle of LaGrange, who won a record seven championships, won consecutive titles twice 1978-79 and 1987-88.
Peacock led by five shots after the fourth hole. But Jones birdied three of four holes on the front to turn in 34, then added four more birdies on the back nine. He tied Peacock with a birdie at No. 15 and both rolled in 10-foot birdie putts on No. 16 to remain tied.
It stayed that way until the 18th. After Peacock made his long birdie putt, all eyes were on Jones. His putt never threatened the cup and he put his hands on his knees in disbelief.
“He hit a really good putt, and I thought I hit a really good putt,” Jones said. “It just didn’t turn in for me. I hit my line. That’s the way golf is.”
The victory was similar to Peacock’s win last year at Rivermont Golf Club, when he overcame a stretch that included two bogeys and a double-bogey. He continued to build momentum when he returned to school and wound up winning the American Athletic Conference championship and leading the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament.
The win earns Peacock an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship and the 2025 Jones Cup. The top five are exempt into the final qualifying round for the U.S. Am.
“U.S. Am qualifying has been elusive for me,” Peacock said. “I’ve come up a couple shots short every year, so that’s fantastic. It’s a relief to know I’m going to the U.S. Am.”
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