Peter Koutroumpis (@pksport) [email protected] RALEIGH, NC – Carter Jenkins continued a long and emotional week and played 36-plus holes of golf at the 2024 U.S. Open final qualifier played at Duke University Golf Club [...]
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Peter Koutroumpis (@pksport)
RALEIGH, NC – Carter Jenkins continued a long and emotional week and played 36-plus holes of golf at the 2024 U.S. Open final qualifier played at Duke University Golf Club in Durham on Monday.
Coming off a T4 finish at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2024 UNC Health Championship at Raleigh Country Club on Sunday, Jenkins carried both physical and mental momentum up the road from his Raleigh home, seeking a shot at playing in his first major championship.
By the end of golf’s ‘longest day’, he survived a 7-for-2 playoff and earned one of the last spots to book his trip to Pinehurst.
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Leaderboard – 2024 U.S. Open – Durham Final Qualifier (USGA)
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Dropping birdies to survive and advance
Jenkins shot 3-under 137 over 36 holes at Duke – carding a 71 on his opening 18 holes to which he quickly responded – posting a finishing round of 66 – and most importantly holing out a birdie on 18 (par-4, 452 yards) to earn a spot in the multiple-player playoff.
Making that scoring stroke on his final hole was exactly what he did Sunday during his round at Raleigh CC.
Having played in the UNC Health Championship (formerly the Rex Hospital Open) since he was a teen, Jenkins’ season-best finish at a course he’s played over 50 times, allowed him to walk off the course at the end of the weekend ready to tackle another familiar course on Monday.
The confidence to make a final-hole push was there at Duke, and the birdie finish with his long-putter, one he’s only been using for just over a month, allowed him to survive and advance.
We’re talking playoff
USGA (Modified) – Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
With six others (Harry Higgs, Matt McCarty, Spencer Oxendine, Ryan Gerard, Satoshi Kodaira, and Rhein Gibson) Jenkins started his 37th hole of the day on No. 10.
His birdie finish on that first playoff hole advanced him to the 38th, along with Higgs, McCarty, and Oxendine.
From there, a par on 18 was enough for Jenkins to stand alongside Higgs’ birdie to claim the final qualifying spot as bogeys dropped McCarty and Oxendine from further contention.
Birdies on 18 carry into bigger prizes
For Jenkins, earning a spot in his first career major, and heading to play famed Pinehurst No. 2 in a few weeks, close to home, family, and friends will of course be an exciting experience.
It’s one that he earned while dealing with the recent loss of friend, former high school teammate, and fellow pro – Grayson Murray.
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Before beginning his final round at the UNC Health Championship, Jenkins tapped his club on Murray’s bag that was draped with a caddy bib bearing his name as it sat at the back edge of the first tee.
It was his show of respect.
“I knew they were doing the honorary tee time (for Grasyon) today,” Jenkins said afterward.
“It was purely out of respect for Grayson and the person that he was.”
In retrospect – Fight for every point as Grayson did
Though he didn’t win on Sunday, you’d have to think, for those spiritual believers, that Jenkins may have had some help along the way to his success in finishing rounds this past weekend.
Final hole birdies create surges in confidence into future rounds.
Playing his final-ever round at Raleigh CC last June, Murray also birdied 18.
He eventually carried that momentum to another Korn Ferry Tour win before moving back up to the PGA Tour and winning last January at the Sony Open.
“You just try to fight for every point you can, when you can’t win out here,” Murray said following his final round in Raleigh.
“There’s a learning curve that goes along with winning. Sometimes you’ve gotta take the blows before you can enjoy the wins. I think the guys that learn from their mistakes down the stretch are the ones that can rebound quicker and get back on that pedestal.”
Not taking anything for granted
Posting a top-5 finish on the Korn Ferry Tour with a birdie on 18, coupled with qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Open with a birdie on 18 to continue into a playoff and eventually earning a spot, Jenkins displayed the same grit and scrappiness on the golf course that Murray played with.
However, all of that has come at a price that he can’t cash in on with his friend no longer around to share in his success.
Something he’s had to carry with him for the past 10 days and will need to do so moving forward.
“He was so comfortable with being who he was and made everyone around him better for that,” Jenkins said.
“He left an impact on me that I won’t ever forget, and I’ll never take it for granted.”
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