By 
JULY
JORDAN HYLAND (GOLF)
Voting Opens Tuesday 2nd March
Ulster Herald Sports Personality Awards 2020 in association with MFC Sports LIVE winners reveal, Wednesday 10th March, 7pm via Facebook and Twitter
Jordan was featured in the Ulster Herald on Thursday, September 3, 2020
Low scoring Jordan’s enjoying West Virginia’s country roads
BY CHRIS CALDWELL
JOHN Denver described West Virginia as ‘almost heaven’ in his famous song ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ and Jordan Hyland has also developed an affinity with the place.
The Omagh man started a golf scholarship at Davis and Elkins College there last August and his already stellar game has come on in leaps and bounds, a fact he proved in early July when he shot a bogey-free round of 63 at Omagh Golf Club to better the course record by two strokes and win the Ulster Herald Sports Personality of the Month award in the process.
Although his flawless round improved Nial Kearns’ 2006 mark at Omagh by two strokes, Jordan’s 63 hasn’t entered the record books due to a technicality. His effort was recorded en route to outright victory in the Bowes Brothers-sponsored competition which allowed placing in bunkers. Because of that and regardless of the fact Hyland never entered the sand his round cannot be classed as an official course record.
Regardless, the former Omagh CBS pupil was thrilled by his performance which included eight birdies and 10 pars en route to a sensational eight-under-par total.
Sensationally, had it not been for a couple of lip-outs and near misses, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Jordan’s round would have been even lower, perhaps even breaking the holy grail of 60 for the first time.
As it was, though, he had to settle for a round of 63, which he was only too glad to given the fairly tricky conditions on the day.
Jordan started his round unspectacularly, but steadily, missing out on two birdies on the opening two holes after two good approach shots, including his first lip-out on the second. His luck turned on the par three third when he chipped in for birdie after missing the green.
Two pars followed on the par five fourth and the index one fifth before he birdied the par five sixth and par four seventh. On the eighth, Jordan two putted for par before hitting his best drive of the day to within 10 steps from the green for birdie and he then missed the green on the par three 10th but recovered with a neat up and down.
He decided to play the 11th and 12th safe, laying up rather than going for the green, and that approach paid off with two more birdies before his putt for birdie on the par three 13th did a 360 around the hole forcing him to have to settle for par. Two more pars followed on 14 and 15, the latter when he should have birdied but missed a fairly straightforward putt.
He regrouped after that minor disappointment to par the 16th after another great drive, but on 17 he hit an excellent eight iron that spun back and almost dropped for an ace. But his seventh birdie of the round was secured and onto the last he went. Again, rather than taking a risk and going for the par four’s green off the tee, he hit three iron before getting up and down for a stunning round of eight under par and a new course record.
“The 10th was the turning point in the round because I had an idea I was four under through nine and I started getting nervous and on 17 I was getting really nervous when it was pointed out to me that I was six or seven under!,” he explained.
“At that stage I was asking myself questions like ‘what are you having for dinner?’ or ‘what’s the craic?’, anything to take my mind off it and distract myself.
“It hadn’t really sunk in when I holed the last put. I knew I had played well but it didn’t mean anything at the time – it was 44 points, it was eight under, it was a good round.
“I’ve had two bogey-free rounds in competition before but to do it with so many birdies is uncommon. It was fantastic, especially because on the 10th it wasn’t an easy up and down and I was thinking it could have been three or four better at best but that would be greedy!
I’ll take eight under because it could have been five or six under just as easy.”
Although his first full year in West Virginia was cut short due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, things couldn’t have gone much better until lockdown for Jordan.
He excelled in class, scoring a stunning 3.9 Grade Point Average (4 is the top score possible) to make the Dean’s List and he has produced a similar level of excellence on the links to be named by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on the Division II PING Atlantic All- Region Team, which is a rare achievement by a Freshman.
Hyland appeared in 12 rounds in his first season with the Senators, recording a pair of top-10 finishes. He recorded an average score of 75.42, including a season low 70 in the opening round of the Wally Edgell Invitational on September 23. He finished third overall in that event, following it up with a 71 in the second round for a final score of -1.
Hyland finished fourth in the Snowshoe Invitational after roundsof 75 and 71 (+2). He was tied for 18th at the Mountain East Conference Men’s Golf Championships on October 7-9. As a team, Davis & Elkins finished sixth in the Atlantic Region, earning a top-five finish in every event throughout the shortened season. The Senators won the Wally Edgell Invitational and nabbed third-place at the MEC Championships.
“It’s been very, very enjoyable,” he beamed. “Living in that very competitive atmosphere is very enjoyable because there are seven of us on the team and we’re all very good golfers but we’re always trying to beat each other each day, be that in the gym or on the golf course, it’s just a competitive environment that brings you on.
“That has improved my golf and the coaching has been fantastic.
We’re in the gym a lot, about four days a week, we’re running a lot, which is something I was never used to, so I’d say it’s very professional, it’s a good regime.
“Hopefully I can keep doing what I’ve been doing and keep my head down and maybe after college I can pursue a career in professional golf but at the minute my main focus is to get through one semester at a time, keep my grades up, keep my fitness up and try to keep the golf quality up.
“I’ll just try my best and we’ll see what happens.”
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