Men's Golf | 8/4/2021 9:12:00 AM

As the most decorated golf student-athlete in school history upon graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) five years ago, Jamie Jackson certainly enjoyed a great deal of success with the Engineers, including numerous team and individual championships. The accolades continued as he transitioned to coaching, highlighted by RPI earning its first trip to the NCAA Division III Championship in May with him as the head coach. While those trophies and medals are tremendous sources of pride, Jackson managed his most impressive accomplishment in July when he qualified for the United States Amateur Championship, the premier golf tournament in the nation for amateurs.

A graduate of the Class of 2016, Jackson won in a playoff to capture one of only 312 spots in the field (there were 7,811 entries) and earn the opportunity to compete on the storied course of Oakmont Country Club in western Pennsylvania, as well as Longue Vue Club in Verona, Pennsylvania. He heads to the Pittsburgh area on Thursday for what he hopes is a 10-day tournament. Practices begin on Friday and the tournament commences on Monday.

A biomedical engineering major who is now a senior consultant for the Agilis Consulting Group, Jackson got into his car the morning of July 20 to make the 65-mile drive from his home in Cohoes to the Wiltwyck Golf Club in Kingston, New York, with the goal of playing well without putting too much pressure on himself or overthinking things. It was not his first attempt and he intended on using his previous experience, as well as those he had playing and coaching competitively at Rensselaer, to swing confidently and stay focused.

My game was feeling good and I knew I had the ability," he said. "But also the U.S. Amateur is the biggest dance in amateur golf so I knew the competition would be tough. In a way it took the pressure off because I knew only two players would get through the qualifier so all there was to do was try and go as low as possible.

"I tried for the U.S. Amateur one other time in 2018 at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown and I came close; I was on the cut line through 29 holes out of the 36 but stumbled a little bit coming in. I had a feeling I was in the hunt and started playing a little tentatively on a more challenging part of the golf course."

The recipient of the RPI Athletics Career Athlete award and the Liberty League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2016, Jackson began this year's 36-hole event with a birdie on the opening hole. He continued to alternate birdies and pars for the next four holes before a pair of bogeys on the next three holes sent him out with a 34. A birdie-par-par-birdie start to the back put Jackson at 3-under with five holes to play. Bogeys on 14 and 16 were followed by a pair of pars, resulting in an 18-hole score of 1-under 68.

His second round of the day began like the first, with a birdie on the par 4 opening hole before a run of three straight pars. A bogey-4 on the fifth hole leveled his round and his score remained that way until the eighth, which he birdied with a 2. A birdie-3 on the ninth gave him a 33 heading to the back-9. Jackson had four pars and three bogeys in holes 10-16 before shooting a birdie-4 on 17. A par on 18 allowed for an even-69 for the round and a 1-under 137 for the day.

Jackson then found the fairway with his drive and reached the green in regulation in the playoff, while his competitor, Shkelqim Kukaj, did not. The extra-hole victory was the biggest of his career and a lifelong goal had been achieved.

"It's funny, when I putted out on the last hole, I didn't think I took it low enough," said Jackson, who has stepped away from coaching. "I only checked the leader board once on the 13th hole of my second 18 and there were a couple guys who were 2 and 3 shots ahead, so I thought I needed to make a little bit of a move. But I played the rest of the round even par and when I putted out my playing partner said, "I think you might need to stick around for a playoff," and I didn't really believe him until I went to scoring.

"Thankfully, the playoff only required one hole and a pretty simple par from me. Once the playoff was over, I had the most accomplished feeling I've ever had on a golf course. When the official in charge said, 'Congratulations, you have qualified for the 121st U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club,' it sounded like a dream. Golf is a weird sport where you win and validate your true talent so rarely, but when you do it feels so sweet. The feeling and accomplishment also gives me a lot of confidence going forward that I can compete at an elite level."

Organized by the United States Golf Association, this year's U.S. Amateur event takes place Aug. 9-15 with of two rounds of stroke play (Aug. 9-10) and up to seven rounds of match play (Aug. 11-15). The top 64 following the first two days advance to match play. Three days of practice rounds are allowed ahead of the competition. Jackson will play as much as he can with former teammate Aaron Schauger '17 as his caddie.

Adding his name to the notable list of competitors who have played in the U.S. Amateur, icons such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Bryson DeChambeau, is the culmination of a spring and summer Jackson will never forget. On May 2, the Engineers posted a 14-stroke win in the Liberty League Championship for a historic championship. He was named the conference's Coach of the Year before guiding the squad to the NCAA Tournament, where it made the cut and finished 17th in the nation. On May 29, he married Anna DenAdel in Saratoga Springs with friends, family and former teammates in attendance. He was also chosen as the Division III Northeast Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

"2021 has been quite a ride so far for so many reasons," Jackson said. 'We finally made it to the National Championship with the RPI program, an accomplishment that I worked at for nine years. I married my best friend, Anna, and we got to have such an amazing wedding celebration in Saratoga Springs, which was totally awesome. My wife and I honeymooned at Pebble Beach and Big Sur in California, so I also got to play Pebble Beach this year, which is a definite bucket list item. Now I'm playing arguably the most prestigious amateur golf event in the world.

"In short, 2021 has been an amazing year and I'm just trying to soak up all the memories as best I can."