Being consistent paid off in a big way for Davis Jensen.
The Shaker High School senior shot a first-round score of 74 and a second-round score of 73 to win the New York State Public High School Athletic Association golf championship June 2 and 3 at Cornell University’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.
Tied with three other golfers for third place after the first day, Jensen continued to hit the ball well while his rivals struggled.
`I just tried to focus on the same things I did the first day, and hopefully the tournament would fall my way,` said Jensen.
Jensen was so focused on his own game that he didn’t know he had taken the lead on the field until he reached the 17th tee. By that point, he was three strokes ahead of his nearest competitor, New Hartford freshman Alec Bard.
`I was told I had a three-shot lead with two holes to play, so I settled my nerves and got in,` said Jensen.
When Jensen sank the final putt for par on the 18th hole, he said he had a hard time believing he won the state title.
`I was just in shock,` he said. `I never really dreamed of winning a state championship. I felt confident I could compete for it.`
Jensen’s father, Schuyler Meadows Club head pro Steve Jensen, said he believed in his son.
`We always knew Davis had the ability to win it. He just needed the confidence to go out there and do it,` said Steve.
Jensen was one of Section II’s top golfers during the fall season. He tied for the Class A title with Bethlehem’s Victor Fox and placed fifth at the state qualifier last October to earn his trip to Cornell.
Fox, who won the qualifier, didn’t attend the state championships. Instead Fox participated in a Sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open, where he finished out of the running for one of the four berths with a two-round score of 9-over par 150.
Jensen said he would have liked to competed against Fox at the high school championships, but he understood Fox’s decision.
`We’ve become very close over the years,` said Jensen. `We’ve played against each other in a lot of competitions. It’s amazing how far we’ve both come.`
Jensen’s victory earned him automatic berths in two tournaments — Sunday’s Federation championships at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, and next month’s state amateur championships at Schuyler Meadows.
Jensen said the opportunity to play for the state amateur title on his home course has its pros and cons.
`Any time you play in a tournament at your home course, you feel more pressure because you feel like you should do well. But you also feel less pressure because you know the course, so you feel more comfortable,` said Jensen.
`These players coming into (the state amateur) tournament are very capable of winning it,` said Steve Jensen, who is running the tournament July 23-25.
After this summer, Jensen moves to Fayetteville, N.C., where he will attend NCAA Division III golf power Methodist University. There, Jensen will continue his playing career while also learning the ropes of being a golf club professional.
`There are only a dozen or so programs like that across the United States, but Methodist is one of the few that also allows those students to play on the college golf team,` said Steve Jensen.
`I’ll have four years of fun down there at school and see where my game goes from there,` added Davis Jensen.
