University of Minnesota Athletics
Jones and Vining Part of U.S. Amateur Field
8/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
U.S. Amateur Web Page
Incoming University of Minnesota freshmen Peter Jones and Tom Vining will compete in the U.S. Amateur Championship. The tournament runs Aug. 17-23 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. Jones is one of five Minnesotans in the 312-player field, and Vining is the sole representative from South Dakota.
The low 64 scorers after 36 holes of stroke play will advance to match play starting on Wednesday, Aug. 19. On Monday, Vining will tee off at 7:30 a.m. on the first hole of the North Course. Jones will begin at 8:20 a.m. on the first hole of the South Course. The two will play the opposite courses starting on the 10th hole on Tuesday, with Vining teeing off at 12:30 p.m. and Jones at 1:20 p.m.
Vining has already turned in a handful of top finishes this summer. The Sioux Falls Lincoln High School graduate won a 38-hole final match to capture the South Dakota Match Play Championship in July, then won the state's amateur stroke play championship by eight strokes with rounds of 71, 69 and 66 last weekend. Vining also turned in a top-10 finish at the Northwest Iowa Amateur. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur with scores of 70 and 68.
Jones medaled at his U.S. Amateur qualifier by shooting a 73 and 75. The Owatonna native played in the MGA Amateur Championship in July after a second-place qualifying round of 72. He tied for 21st at the state amateur with increasingly lower rounds each day for a total of 227. Jones advanced to the round of 32 at the MGA Players' Championship with a 3&1 win. He also competed at the Junior North & South Amateur Championship last month.
Both Jones and Vining competed at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur, and Jones advanced to the match play portion of the tournament. Vining is a two-time South Dakota state high school champion, while Jones twice turned in runner-up finishes at the state level in Minnesota.
Players Mentioned
