With the Jones Cup win, Florida State’s Gray Albright has come a long way

Before everyone dispersed for the holidays, Florida State redshirt senior Gray Albright and some teammates faced one last challenge from Seminole alums who play professional golf but still call Tallahassee, Fla., home. In those games around the Seminole Legacy Club, pros like John Pak, Vincent Norrman and Frederik Kjetrup often battle college boys, a group that still includes junior Luke Clanton, who has already proven more than capable at the next level with four top 10s last season on the PGA Tour, including a pair of runner-up finishes.

Right now, Clanton, not any of the current pros, provides the biggest litmus test.

“It was amazing to see him do what he did,” Albright said of Clanton. “He’ll go to these Tour tournaments and then come back and we’ll play a bunch of matches and then you’ll be able to compare your game against him…

“And I’m not gonna lie, he’s been kicking my ass lately.”

If anything, Albright adds, those ass-kickings made him better. When he showed up at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga., for last week’s Jones Cup Invitational, he was well conditioned for a punishing schedule, bone-chilling temperatures and wind, and a stellar field that featured five of the top 12 amateurs in the world. and plenty of depth.

Of course, he didn’t have to deal with Clanton, who was away at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but Albright edged another teammate, junior Jack Bigham, in the playoff after both players finished 54 holes at 4 under, two shots behind. from Vanderbilt’s Jackson Van Paris, Duke’s Luke Sample and 16-year-old Miles Russell.

Albright won with a par on the first extra hole, but his performance on the back nine in regulation allowed him to join previous Jones Cup champions Justin Thomas, Ludwig Aberg and Patrick Reed. Albright went 10-18 on Sunday in a bogey-free 3-under, hitting a 192-yard 7-iron on the par-4 12th^throlling in 15 feet for birdie at the next and then delivering the moment of the tournament on the par-3 17^th.

With his back foot in the bunker, Albright, a lefty, stood over a 50-foot birdie putt. With Bigham looking about 15 feet for birdie, Albright knew she needed to hit the ball well. But the historically skilled pitcher has done better than that; he shook it – and a good thing because Bigham would spill his putt on it.

“I kind of passed out and freaked out about it,” Albright said. “That was one of the cooler holes I’ve ever played.”

The victory, however, was easily the biggest.

Florida State head coach Trey Jones said, “There’s no way you’d see him winning on that golf course two years ago.”

Albright would agree.

“I’m a completely different golfer than I was when I came here as a freshman,” Albright said. “I didn’t know as much about golf as I thought I did.”

Albright boasted some nice credentials coming out of Forest High in Ocala, Fla., including a strong golfing lineage — his father, Steve, played golf at North Carolina and his brother, Miles, competed at Gardner-Webb. But buried on a roster led by first-team All-Americans John Pak and Vincent Norrman, Albright didn’t hit a single tournament goal in her first season.

In fact, Albright only made six starts in her first three seasons, as her high golf IQ and deadly swing weren’t enough to overcome her loose golf swing.

“It was tough mentally because everyone doubts whether they can do it or not,” Albright said. “But my teammates and coaches were great to me, they told me to keep going, to work, and I’m really grateful for that. It’s not always easy when you’re not doing well.”

Albright came through during the spring of his redshirt sophomore season, when he won the Seminoles’ intercollegiate title. He added another victory last spring, at the Watersound Invitational, while finishing the season with four top-10s and an average nearly two strokes better than his previous low.

Prior to his win at Ocean Forest, Albright climbed to No. 61 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, a testament to the work he’s put in on campus and with instructor Sean Hogan, who teaches at the David Leadbetter Academy at ChampionsGate in Orlando, Florida. Albright is more consistent in attacking the ball these days, especially out of the match. Hits shots with less curve and has tighter misses.

His prospects are also better than ever. Albright is ranked 18th in the PGA Tour University, which will award the Korn Ferry Tour top-10 status after the spring NCAA Championship.

Albright is well aware of what’s at stake this semester, but she also knows she’s now on the radar for this fall’s Walker Cup, which obviously, if Albright were to make the 10-man team, would mean a delay in Albright’s professional career.

“If he thought he was on that team, I would expect him to do that,” Jones said. “He sees the bigger picture. That’s why he came back for the fifth year, to get better. He has the ability to be patient.”

Albright said that.

He knows, especially after Sunday’s triumph, that he will soon be among the pros at Seminole Legacy playing against college boys.