Jacob Cook Becomes Second Wildcat to Qualify for U.S. Amateur
CINCINNATI – Kentucky men’s golfer Jacob Cook became the second Wildcat to qualify for the U.S. Amateur by earning the second spot from The Camargo Club qualifier via a playoff on Wednesday. Cook pared the first playoff hole to earn the second slot from the Cincinnati qualifying course.
“It means the world to me. I’ve had this date circled on my calendar for awhile and being able to make it to the U.S. Amateur, which is the highest tournament in amateur golf, is amazing,” Cook said. “I’m extremely excited to play Oakmont. It’s close by and obviously one of the best courses in golf. It took a lot of patience these last couple of days, but this really means a lot.”
Cook joins Garrett Wood who also qualified to appear in the national event Aug. 9-15 at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Wood qualified by winning the TPC River Bend’s qualifier on Monday.
“I’m super pumped knowing Garrett is going to be playing in this event as well,” Cook said. “I’m excited to share this experience with him and hopefully more of our teammates will qualify too. Not many people get to play in a USGA event, so I’m excited for the opportunity represent not only the University of Kentucky but our state as well.”
Cook combined to shoot 2-under par for the tournament with scores of 71 and 67.
Cook’s roller coaster of a week began with torrential rains at the start of his second round on Tuesday. Originally slated to be a continuous-36-hole event, rain forced play to finish on Wednesday. Cook was through his 20th hole when play was halted.
He began his tournament with a 1-over 71 through the opening 18 holes. Cook was 1-under at the turn but suffered three bogeys on the back nine.
The Frankfort, Kentucky, native opened action in his second round knowing he would need to go low to have a chance. Cook was able to pick up a birdie at the second hole and then rain began to fall.
Returning to the course on Wednesday, Cook earned par through his first three holes. He picked up a shot at the sixth before suffering a miscue at the eighth. He immediately combatted it with a birdie at the ninth to really get his round rolling.
Cook carded birdies at the 11th and 13th and moved into contention. He then hit into the wind and suffered a double-bogey at the 14th. Cook wasted little time in settling down with a par at the 15th and 16th holes.
He finished with a birdie at the 17th and a par at the 18th to force a playoff for the second qualifying slot from The Camargo Club. Cook capped the round at 3-under-par with a 67. That mark tied for the second-lowest round of the tournament.
On the opening hole of the playoff, Cook calmly sunk a 6-foot par putt to clinch the win.
This marks the second major achievement of the summer for Kentucky’s graduate student. Earlier this summer, Cook repeated as the Lexington Men’s City Champion with a five-shot advantage.
Cook enjoyed a banner year in 2020-21 for the Wildcats. He earned a career-low 73.26 stroke average as he played in a career-high nine events. He was the only UK player to start in all nine events for the Wildcats this season. Cook logged a career-low round (68) and a career-low score (212) during the season. He also earned a career-best collegiate finish of a tie for 16th at the Kiawah Invitational.
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