It was a week to remember for Jackson Van Paris.
Not only did the junior from Pinehurst, North Carolina, win the 2020 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley by two shots at 9-under 207, but he did it in the midst of a global pandemic.
The threat of coronavirus didn’t shatter Van Paris’s focus in Graniteville, South Carolina. On Saturday, he not only set aside coronavirus concerns, but picked up his final round exactly where he left it Friday afternoon. Four under at the turn Friday, Van Paris kept focused Saturday, going 1 under on the back nine to finish the round with a 67. Van Paris shot rounds of 71 and 69 leading up to the final round.
Verbally committed to Vanderbilt, Van Paris also won the Sea Pines Junior Heritage in February, 2019 Hope Valley Junior Invitational and 2019 AJGA Simplify Boys Championship. Van Paris has also competed in the Rolex Junior All-American in 2017 and 2018 and the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach at the age of 14.
Luke Potter earned second at 7 under after finishing his final round with three-straight bogeys. A sophomore from Encinitas, California, Potter carded a final-round 2-under 70, after beginning the day 4 under through nine holes.
Three strokes behind Van Paris in third at 6 under were Michael Brennan, Tyler Wilkes and second-round leader Maxwell Moldovan.
Moldovan, who also led through 45 holes, was runner-up at the 2019 Junior Invitational. The senior from Uniontown, Ohio, held a two-shot lead at the conclusion of play Friday, but went 3 over Saturday on the back nine, including a double bogey on 18 to fall short of the title once again. Moldovan finished the event with rounds if 70-65-71.
Brennan carded a 6-under 66 Saturday, the most impressive final round in the field and tied for second-lowest score of the week. The senior from Leesburg, Virginia, climbed the leaderboard Friday, going 6 under on the final round’s front nine, including an eagle on the par-5 fourth.
Reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Preston Summerhays finished T-13 at 3 under.
Joseph Pagdin, the top-ranked boy’s golfer on the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, withdrew from the event Friday after the second round due to a rib injury that hadn’t completely healed. Karl Vilips withdrew prior to the first round.
The tournament was played across its scheduled three days despite nearly every other sporting event being canceled or postponed throughout the week due to the threat of coronavirus, ruled a pandemic Wednesday by the World Health Organization.
On Thursday, officials announced the tournament would continue for the final two rounds despite mass cancelations in the sports world including the PGA Tour’s Players Championship, but with no patrons on site other than family members and essential personnel. Officials also said they planned to test players and families for signs of illness before play on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, competitors played 27 holes, leaving the final round’s remaining nine holes to be played Saturday morning.
There were more than 1,700 total confirmed cases and 47 deaths in the United States related to coronavirus as of Friday evening.
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