With mission call in hand, BYU’s Cooper Jones proving he can compete on Korn Ferry Tour

FARMINGTON — In another month, Cooper Jones will stow away his golf clubs for two years to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru.

But he’s making plenty good use of his final summer of golf before then.

Playing in his third Korn Ferry Tour event in his home state, Jones shot 5-under-par 66 Saturday to move into a tie for 18th at 14-under in the Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club.

“It was fun on Monday to qualify for another one, and then to come out and play well,” said Jones, the reigning Utah state amateur runner-up who shot 63 at Bonneville in a Monday qualifier. “I think it just proves what I thought in my first two, that I’m good enough to belong out and to play well out here, but this has been fun.”

Jones started the day strong with back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes en route to 3-under 33 through nine. The former Lone Peak standout added a pair of birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to move to 5-under on the day even as he and his caddy — his father Clark — admitted they left plenty of putts on the course.

“A putt finally dropped for me on 16, after I hit a decent wedge shot to 20-25 feet,” Jones said. “I just stayed patient out there, and didn’t make any bogeys. Five birdies if you’re playing pretty good is kind of a given out here.”

Jones could qualify for next week’s Korn Ferry Tour stop in Omaha, Nebraska, with a top-25 finish. He’s also registered for the Utah Open Aug. 16-18 at Riverside Country Club in Provo — and then he says he’ll probably stow away the clubs for two years before returning for his sophomore season at BYU in the fall of 2026.

Read the full story at KSL.com

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