Palmer Jackson grabs 3-shot lead at West Penn Open; records hole-in-one
Palmer Jackson accomplished a first Tuesday during the second round of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Open Championship, and it had nothing to do with his hole-in-one.
The Murrysville native shot his first 7-under-par round in competition, a 64, at Westmoreland County Club and grabbed a four-shot lead heading to the final round. It’s the first time he has competed in the West Penn Open.
Jackson is at 9-under 133. Gregor Meyer is second at 5-under after a 2-under 69.
Allegheny Country Club pro John Aber, who shot a 6-under 65 in the first round to take the early lead, shot a 2-over 73 and is tied for third with Pittsburgh’s Sasha Lobel at 4-under, 138.
Peters Township’s Jake Sollon his fifth at 3-under, and Greensburg’s Mark Goetz, who led midway through the second round at 5-under, is tied for sixth place at 2-under with Greensburg’s Kevin Fajt and Ambridge’s Shawn McCall.
Jackson’s hole-in-one, his second in competition, came on No. 9. It completed a 5-under 31 on the outward nine. He had three more birdies and a bogey on the back nine.
His first hole-in-one came when he was 11 competing in the U.S. Kids tournament at Pinehurst, N.C.
“Hole-in-ones are mostly lucky,” Jackson said. “But I hit my 7-iron pure (a 180-yard shot) and right at the pin. It was a perfect shot.”
He followed the hole-in-one with his only bogey.
“When you get a hole-in-one, it’s tough to play the next hole,” Jackson said. “I told myself to stay focused, and I hit a driver right into the trees. I still had a chance to make par, but I missed the cup.”
Jackson played well at the Southern Amateur last week and was within three shots of the lead in the third round but stumbled over the final six holes.
“I wasn’t playing well,” Jackson said. “It continued Monday, but I figured out what was wrong. My alignment and tempo were off. I played well (Tuesday).”
And while Jackson has a comfortable lead, he wants to stay aggressive,
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Jackson said. “I’ve played with the lead before. I have to stay focused and refocus. Westmoreland is difficult. Getting birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 will help me Wednesday.”
The field of 77 was cut to the low 32 and ties. The field is now 36.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
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