David Harrison, a Trophy Club native who recently graduated from Byron Nelson High School, followed up his runner-up showing in the Class 6A state tournament in May by winning a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier at Dornick Hills Country Club on June 17 in Ardmore, Oklahoma. In both events, Harrison had to play playoff holes to determine the winner.
His efforts in Ardmore earned Harrison something that he said has been a goal of his by playing in the Junior Amateur, which starts July 15 at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. The tourney counts golf luminaries such as Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and David Duval among its list of champions.
“It is a great honor to be able to qualify for a prestigious event and I couldn’t be more excited to go out and play,” Harrison told Texas Scorecard in an email.
It’s an early pinnacle for Harrison in a sport that he has been in virtually all his life. He said he has been playing the game since he was old enough to stand up, and dove into it full bore in eighth grade. He credited his father, who was working in the golf industry when Harrison was born and got him started in the sport.
“Without him, I don’t know where I would be now,” Harrison said.
Harrison, who was ranked No. 62 nationally among high school seniors by Golfweek magazine, will play at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
At the Junior Amateur qualifier, Harrison topped Jase Summy of Keller after six playoff holes, when Harrison notched a par for the winning edge. The intensity started early in the playoff. Harrison said that on the first hole, he had to sink a sliding putt from 8 feet just to continue the playoff. From there, he kept the ball in the fairway en route to the win.
“It was a very pressure-packed situation,” Harrison said. “Jase was a great player and having to compete against him was a challenge.”
In addition to working on putting in preparation for the tough greens at Inverness — a course Harrison said he has never played — fairways will be a big part of his strategy for the Junior Amateur.
“It is a course that is very narrow and you have to be able to play to spots because if you get out of position it can really penalize you,” Harrison said.
The final two days of the Junior Amateur will be on FS1 starting at 1 p.m. Central on July 19-20.
