Franklin Regional grad Palmer Jackson looks forward to NCAA regional, busy summer schedule

Palmer Jackson has played golf at some of the great venues in the U.S., a list that includes Oakmont Country Club, Baltusrol, Pebble Beach and Valhalla, and that was just in 2018.

This year, he’s taking his game across the pond.

The Notre Dame junior and Franklin Regional graduate’s summer schedule includes some of the top amateur tournaments. The highlight will be representing the U.S. in the Arnold Palmer Cup, hosted by Golf Club de Genève in Switzerland July 1-3, 2022.

The event, which began in 1997, is a Ryder Cup-style tournament in which the top collegiate golfers in the U.S. compete against a team from Europe.

He was selected using Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base and the Arnold Palmer Cup ranking awards bonus points for wins and high finishes and a penalty for poor finishes.

The ranking also contains strength of schedule component. The ranking is utilized to identify the top six golfers who automatically qualify for the team. The rest of the 12-person roster will be selected by a committee before the competition begins.

“I am grateful and honored to be a member of the United States team for the Arnold Palmer Cup,” Jackson said. “This will be my first time to Europe and I’m excited.

“It’s an honor to represent my namesake. I was named after Mr. Palmer, and his legacy and character have given me guidance throughout my life. To be able to represent Notre Dame, the United States, and Mr. Palmer in Geneva is a dream come true.”

Jackson’s summer will begin in Florida at the NCAA Division I Regionals at Palm Beach Gardens May 15, at the Champions Course at PGA National Resort.

Notre Dame is the 15th-ranked team and the No. 3 seed, its highest rating in the regional round.

The top five teams from each regional advance to the NCAA Championship from May 27-June 1, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Jackson is a Haskins and Ben Hogan Award candidate and is coming off a third-place finish at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. He has 10 top-10 finishes in 11 events.

After the NCAA season, Jackson will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open at a sectional qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.

After that, he’ll play in numerous amateur tournament and sprinkle in a few local events.

His schedule includes playing in the Sunnehanna Amateur, the Western Open, Northeast Amateur, the Southern Amateur, the Pacific Coast Amateur and the U.S. Amateur.

“I want to play in some of the local events because they’ve supported me in the past,” Jackson said. “I’m looking forward to the NCAAs.

“I’m playing well. I’m working hard to improve my game. It’s a process, but I’m hitting the ball well.”

In the fall, Jackson will be able to play in a PGA event after earning an invitation to the RSM Classic in November with his win at the 2022 Jones Cup Invitational. The PGA Tour event is hosted by the Davis Love Foundation and is played at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia.

Jackson called the Jones Cup at Ocean Forest Golf Club the biggest win of his young career. He had to battle the toughest playing conditions he had ever faced over 18 holes before claiming the win.

“It was the most difficult tournament round I’ve ever had to play,” Jackson said. “I think I have faced similar conditions to that before, but not on a golf course where you’ve got to hit it straight on every hole. It was a true challenge. “

He led from wire to wire and closed the tournament Sunday with a 4-over-par 76 score to finish the 54-hole tournament at 5-under 211.

Along with the Jones Cup win, Jackson also won the Gopher Invitational and tied for first at inaugural Jackson T. Stephens Cup.