Golfer of the Year: James Wood's Jackson Lynch

Two straight double bogeys was not how Jackson Lynch wanted to start the Region 4C golf tournament at Loudoun Golf and Country Club on Oct. 7.

That situation did provide another opportunity for Lynch to show his growth as a golfer this year, and he finished his year in fitting fashion.

One year after Lynch shot a 96 to place 43rd out of 48 golfers in the region tournament at Fauquier Springs, Lynch shot his best 18-hole score of the year to lead all local golfers and tie for 10th overall in the field of 48 with a 5-over 77.

More often than not, Lynch was the area’s best golfer when he stepped on a course. He tied for the best local score at the Class 4 Northwestern District tournament at Fauquier Springs, and Lynch’s 18-hole stroke average of 80.7 was more than two strokes better than any other area golfer.

It all adds up to Lynch’s selection as The Winchester Star Golfer of the Year. He is the first Colonel to win the award since Will Holmes in 2012.

“It used to be when I got mad or down, I wasn’t going to recover,” Lynch said. “That was a big reason for why I was shooting such high scores.”

James Wood coach David Oates said pretty much the entire team developed better responses to adversity this year, which was part of the reason why the Colonels posted an undefeated record in competitions of four teams or fewer and returned to the Region 4C tournament as a team after a one-year absence.

“We worked very hard with them on the mental side of things and to not give up,” Oates said. “We just explained to them that you’re going to have some bad holes. It might be in the beginning, it might be in the end, it might be in the middle. You’re just going to have to overcome that. Jackson developed the ability to do that well.”

A stronger mental approach was just the latest thing that Lynch added to his game as part of his remarkable transformation from the start of his James Wood career.

Lynch said he was 6 or 7 when he first picked up a club, but he only occasionally accompanied his father James to golf courses for much of the next decade. After talking with friends he thought once he entered high school it might be fun to play for James Wood’s golf team.

Lynch struggled to a 119 during tryouts as a freshman in 2016, but he did earn a spot on the team. Lynch just never showed enough to warrant being one of the six golfers that the Colonels would send onto the course for match competition.

“I was enjoying playing golf, but at the same time I wasn’t, because I was so bad,” Lynch said.

That started to change once the season was over. Former Colonel star Tyler Mounts took Lynch under his wing in preparation for Mounts’ senior year and Lynch’s sophomore campaign.

“I played almost all winter long, all summer long with Tyler, and grinded it,” Lynch said. “Tyler taught me pretty much everything I know about golf.

“I just fell in love with the game. It was everything. All the things you can do with a club to control a little ball. Stuff like having to hit shots around trees. It used to be I didn’t know what to do if I was behind a tree, but sometimes you can still hit a green and make a birdie. Being able to hit crazy shots like that really appealed to me.”

Lynch shot an 82 during tryouts as a sophomore, and he’s been one of the Colonels’ top golfers ever since.

He posted the team’s second-best stroke average last year, and he established himself as the team’s top golfer right off the bat this year by recording an 82 at the first Northwestern District mini at Fauquier Springs on Aug. 5. It was the second best score among local golfers.

The Curly Licklider Invitational at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club two days later showed just how prepared Lynch was to deal with adversity this season. Lynch started at Blue No. 5 in the shotgun start and was five over after three holes as a result of two double bogeys and one bogey.

Lynch recovered to shoot four birdies and a score of 79 (plus-seven), the best score in relation to par among all area golfers. (All three nines at SVGC were used, and Lynch played on the Blue-Red combination.)

“That was an incredible tournament and an incredible round,” Lynch said. “My first shot was [out of bounds].

“I didn’t even know what was going through my head after that. I just kind of let loose. It’s my home course. I’m there every day. I knew I could get some shots back and shoot at least an 80. I just had more confidence in my stroke.”

The results certainly show that. Lynch had a stroke average of 84.5 last year. All but one of his seven rounds in tournament play were below that this year, the lone exception a respectable 85 at the Skyline Invitational. (The other six tournament rounds came in the Class 4 Northwestern District mini, the Licklider, two in the Gunter, the district tournament, and the region tournament.) Lynch also had a nine-hole stroke average of 40.1.

“I had a lot more pure iron shots this year compared to years past,” Lynch said. “I was really controlling the ball more than I used to. If I wanted to hit a draw on a par-5, I could do it. My contact was a definite plus. I really had a lot of confidence in the way that I was hitting the ball.”

Lynch’s nine-hole average was aided significantly by his performance in a quad on Sept. 16 one week before the district tournament was held at the same location. Lynch shot an even-par 34 on the front nine at Fauquier Springs to tie for medalist honors with Kettle Run’s Reese Massei, who went on to place second at the district tournament, and Lynch beat eventual district champ Bryce Leazer of Fauquier.

“I was playing with two guys who were the best in the district,” Lynch said. “I had one bogey where I hit the ball in the water, but everything was clicking.”

Lynch said the performance at the quad gave the Colonels’ entire team confidence. James Wood shot a collective 9-over 145 to beat Kettle Run (149) and Fauquier (155).

Both the Cougars and the Falcons topped James Wood at the district tournament, but Lynch’s 82 helped James Wood take third place for the final Region 4C qualifying spot.

“That was very important,” Lynch said. “We got to play another round with some guys who are very good.”

Two weeks later, Lynch got to show he belonged with that group. An eagle on his third hole, the 490-yard, par-5 12th at Loudoun quickly erased some of the damage caused by his two double bogeys at the outset. Lynch hit his second shot from 183 yards to within two feet of the hole.

“I had a problem that week with hooking my low irons,” Lynch said. “I just told myself, ‘Don’t hook it.’ I played my tee shot up the left side and then played a little draw at the pin. I’ll never forget my dad. I looked over and he was just jumping and screaming because it almost went in.”

Lynch didn’t qualify for the state tournament with his 5-over-par score, because only the top two teams and the top three individuals outside those teams advanced. The Colonels took fifth, and the third individual qualifier shot a 72.

Still, the end of the 2019 season was a lot different from the end of 2018.

“[The mental strength] was definitely a plus in my game,” said Lynch, who hopes to continue playing in college. “If I didn’t have that, I probably would have shot more than 96 that day.”

Oates said Lynch will definitely be missed.

“I’d love to have eight more of him,” Oates said. “He’s a really good kid to have around. He loved the game. He’s a natural leader, and his future is bright.”

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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