This year The Jones Cup was conducted under the threat of the Covid19 virus. The virus had changed the 2020 golf season to a great degree for all players - The Jones Cup was no different. Face masks were required at each indoor setting. No rakes were provided for the bunkers and the flag sticks could not be removed. Every meal and other gatherings with contestents complied with social distancing of at least 6ft and face masks. There was also a major change in the lineup and schedule of play. This year's field was cut to 28 players and the tournament started on Thursday and ended on Saturday rather the traditional Sunday finish. This allowed all players to attend the awards ceremony and have a full travel day on Sunday if needed. New awards were given for unforgettable "Hero" shots and major faux pas (Shankapotomas). The Moorland course was out of the tradtional rota in 2020. The Hertiage Golf Club in Pawley's Island became the scene for round two.

Who won the 9th annual playing of The Jones Cup? Let's start with a weather report. November 2020 in Myrtle Beach was the most beautiful and warmest weather in the history on the cup. Each day offered brillant blue skies and short sleeve temps. Almost all players played in shorts and some applied sun screen. The conditions were great for scoring as free swinging players soon found out.

Round One - Heathland

Play lead off on Thursday on the Heathland course. The Heathland course has traditionally given up the best scores of tournament. This year was no exception as scoring was good across the board. Jimmy "JimmiJ" Johnson and KC Rankin jumped on the course to lead the way with +14 and +13 respectively. Chris Kelley, Paul Canovai and Bruce Bryan were just a few points behind. Mark Davis, Jonathan Poore and Jim (JJ) Johnson recorded positive scores. BTW: JimmiJ and JJ became the second father/son team in Jones Cup history in 2017. Jeff and Andy Carowan were the first father/son combo in 2015. That same year, Andy Carowan won the coveted "Never Upset With Par" award. Could there be another strong father/son performance in 2020. Heathland set the stage for a history making year.

Round Two - The Hertiage Club

The Hertiage Club offered another great day for scoring and... alligators and other water graves. The water hazards around the course caused many balls to be lost and the "reach" into the bag for another ball became a favorite pastime. KC Rankin claimed the top of the leader board with Dan Rath climbing 4 spots to finish the round in 2nd place. JimmiJ fell back a bit while former champions JJ Johnson and Tom Spellman crept on to page one of the leaderboard. Rich Crim played well in spite of rumbling gators. The short par 3 13th hole was surrounded by tall grasses and water that hid the gators close by. Loud gator "bellows" startled players on the tee. That sped up play a good bit as players ran from the tee! Fortunately, the "free drop" area was near open water that provided a safe haven for the 3rd shot. Mark Davis, David Bender and Brent Nifong had great rounds to end in positive terriory.

Final Round - Parkland

KC Rankin spent the night sleeping on the lead as tournament concluded on the difficult Parkland course. KC's roomates did not let him forget that he needed a solid round to clinch the cup. The Parkland course often decides the outcome of the tournament. This year, Parkland provided an exciting finish to... The Jones Cup. Very good rounds were played by Dan Rath, Rich Crim, Frank Hughes, Paul Canovai and Chris Kelley. 2019 Champion Tom Spellman and perennial favorite Dale Mathis (previous winner of the "Shirt Off His Back" award) also posted good rounds. KC Rankin also played well to score +2 on the day, but it was JimmiJ Johnson who claimed the top prize. JimmiJ came from 6 points down after two rounds to score 56 points on the final day and solid 5 point victory.

Congratluations to JimmiJ Johnson as the 2020 winner of The Covid, er Jones Cup!

JJ and JimmiJ Johnson became the first father/son duo claim the Cup in the modern era. JJ Johnson won top prize at the Inaugural Playoff in 2012. Eight years later JJ's son JimmiJ became The Jones Cup champion.

Almost All 2020 Players

Tales From the Bunkers

Shirt Off His Back

The "Shirt Off His Back" award is given annually to the player who most exemplifies the best in golf. Passionate, forgiving, team-spirit, the best "Pard". This year's award was presented to:

Mike "Mikey" Meadows

Roll Tide!

A friendly wager turned into a salute to college football. Faithful followers of the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennesee Volunteers squared off for a battle. The terms of the wager stated that the loser of the best ball match would wear the colors of the opposing team during the next day of tournament play. The honors went to Mark Davis while Jeff Carowan "gladly donned the big "A" hat.

Mark Davis helps Jeff Carowan adjust his new head gear

Shankopotmas

The "Shankopotmas" award is given to the best example of the most terrible of golf shots. There were two contenders this year - an miserable drive off the tee and an unbelievable clanking iron shot.

The miserable drive was pulled off by David Bender who managed to "drive" the ball off the tee an amazing distance of 6 INCHES.

The iron shot started left of the fairway and began to fly across a waste area. However, a tree intervened and shot the ball further left where it "clanked" several times before falling on to a bridge. The ball bounced backaward away from the fairway and continued to bounce on the bridge until it rolled on to the cart path. The misbehaving Titleist finally came to rest at the feet of the player. That player was none other that... Chris Kelley. Chris was named as the winner of the "Shankopotmas" award for 2020.

Hero Shots

A "Hero" shot is described is great shot from difficult positions.

The Par 4 16th hole at Heathland can put the player in difficult positions. A waterway splits the fairway and requires a lengthy drive and a solid second shot to the uphill green. Dan Rath hit his drive just a few inches across the waterway. An awkward stance was inevitable, but Dan handled it and hit his 2nd shot into a large timber-rail bunker fronting the sloping green. Dan's 3rd shot barely cleared the timbers of the bunker and came to rest about 60 feet from the cup. Undaunted, Dan calmly aimed and drained the the putt for a routine par. The putt walked off to 63 feet! A "hero" par.

The No. 1 handicap hole at The Hertiage Club is the 14th. The 14th is a long Par 4 with water on the left from tee to green. Many shots found the water; however, one drive was pushed right and looked to fly the bunker. After all other members of the group picked up on this hole, Rich Crim found his drive past the right side bunker in sandy soil. A tree obstucted the potential 2nd shot and water fronted the green. The shot needed to be low under the tree, but high enough to reach the green. Rich played 5 iron and watched the ball fly under the tree and into the reeds growing in front of the green. The group approached the green thinking all was lost. However, the ball apparently hit the green rolled past the back pin and off the green. Rich faced a 20ft putt downhill from off the green. Amazingly the ball found the hole for a birdie!

Congratulations to Dan and Rich for these heroic tales.

The Jones Cup

2020 Final Leaderboard

Player	Total
Jimmy Johnson	30
KC Rankin	25
Dan Rath	21
Rich Crim	17
Chris Kelley	14
Bruce Bryan	13
Brent Nifong	13
Dale Mathis	11
Tom Spellman	11
Jim Johnson	9
David Bender	9
Mark Davis	6
Jonathan Poore	3
Tommy Woods	2
Brent Koeval	-2
Paul Canovai	-3
Kevin Rumsey	-6
Gordon Lovett	-10
Mark Hunter	-12
Frank Hughes	-14
Barry Kelley	-16
Gene Riddle	-18
John Ketner	-20
Mike Meadows	-21
Robbie Cheek	-24

Team Play

2020 Team Finals

Player	Team Total
Dan Rath	39
Jeff Carowan
Justin May
Jim Johnson	84
Jimmy Johnson
Gene Riddle	-8
Bruce Bryan
Rich Crim	28
Brent Koeval
Jonathan Poore	-19
Robbie Cheek
Chris Kelley	27
Barry Kelley
David Bender	82
KC Rankin
Dale Mathis	10
Tommy Woods
Gordon Lovett	7
Mark Davis
Frank Hughes	-66
Mike Meadows
Kevin Rumsey	12
Tom Spellman
Brent Nifong	-8
John Ketner
Mark Hunter	-20
Paul Canovai

Most Pars

Tournament founder, Jim Jones, always said he was never upset with PAR. Old man PAR is your friend and very hard to beat. This year's award for MOST PARS goes to Dad Jim Johnson - Congratulations to JJ!

Player	Total
Jim Johnson	28
Dan Rath	24
Jimmy Johnson	23
KC Rankin	23
Rich Crim	22
Paul Canovai	20
Chris Kelley	18
Mark Hunter	17
Bruce Bryan	16
Tom Spellman	16
Barry Kelley	15
Frank Hughes	15
Gene Riddle	13
Dale Mathis	13
David Bender	12
Brent Nifong	12
Kevin Rumsey	11
Gordon Lovett	9
Mark Davis	9
Fred Turman	8
Brent Koeval	7
Jonathan Poore	6
Mike Meadows	5
Carowan/May	4
Robbie Cheek	4
Tommy Woods	2
John Ketner	1