Courtesy of Colorado State
CHERRY HILLS – There is no timeline in the situation, at least not for Connor Jones.
The result stung, and at the moment just after noon on Thursday, his 4 and 2 loss to Nick Dunlap in the round of 32 at the 123rd U.S. Amateur Tournament was front and center. Eventually, the accomplishment of reaching the point after what he considered an uneventful summer was going to mean something.
When exactly, Jones wasn’t sure.
“I don’t know if there’s a specific timeframe, how long it will take,” Jones said. “It was a good week for me. I’m proud of the way I fought. It’s just how it is. Sometimes you don’t have your best stuff.”
Match play is a different beast, and his foe for the day at Cherry Hills Country Club was Alabama’s Nick Dunlap, the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur champion. Four holes in, Jones was four down.
It wasn’t that he was doing anything wrong. Jones played even golf the first three holes, though he did bogey the fourth. Dunlap opened the day by chipping in from just off the green to announce his intentions.
“I knew he was a really good player. He has a lot of experience in match play, so I knew he was ready from the first tee,” Jones said. “You have to be ready for stuff like that.
“I just got beat. Nick’s a really good player. I don’t think there’s one shot or anything I regret; he just beat me. Straight up beat me.”
What Jones would probably lament was the chances he had to have the match tied by the time they made the turn. On five, seven, eight and nine, Jones had a chance to cut into the deficit, each time missing a birdie putt.
The one on eight hurt, and it was the only time during the match Jones visually showed his feelings, kneeling down to watch Dunlap putt, taking off his hat and staring straight into the green. At that point, he was at par on a normal day, but looking at a big deficit in the format.
“It maybe feels a little different because it doesn’t really matter what the putt’s for. Anytime you have a putt to win the hole or tie the hole, it’s kind of a pressure putt,” Jones said. “I just wasn’t able to get any of those.
“I was pretty frustrated. I missed four or five, six birdies in a row; it’s pretty frustrating. It’s hard to beat a really good player when you can’t make those kinds of putts.”
As they made the turn, Jones started to chip away.
He birdied the 10th hole to shave into the lead. On the 11th, Dunlap’s drive went out of bounds, so Jones’ par on the 639-yard par-5 cut the deficit to two. On 14, Dunlap’s lead was now 1-up when Jones birdied again.
Just as soon as Jones was in striking distance, Dunlap strung together three consecutive birdies to end the match on the 16th green.
“I knew the last four or five holes it’s anybody’s game,” Jones said. “They’re hard holes, but he just putted better than me.”
In the same moment he carried disappointment, he did see hope. His breakdown of his summer is it has been a constant struggle, and whatever he’s been working on to fix it, he was keeping under his best. He quipped someone told him there was power in keeping a secret, which drew a round of grins.
“My game is close,” he said. “It’s not there right now, but it’s close to being really good.”
What else is close is his upcoming final campaign of college golf for the Rams. Throughout the week, his teammates have been texting him, and before long, those keystrokes will turn into conversations at practice.
Once back together, the team has goals and expectations coming off a season where they earned an NCAA Tournament berth. One more run, and one more season to turn a secret into success.
“We’re going to have a really good team coming back, and I’m excited about that,” he said. “I feel really blessed to have another covid year to work on my game and try to develop as much as I can.”
