Stuart Grehan and Gavin Tiernan get their 2026 seasons underway tomorrow as the Jones Cup Invitational tees off at Ocean Forest Golf Club on Sea Island, Georgia.
Dubbed the unofficial opening major of the amateur calendar this is one of golf’s most prestigious invite-only championships with Grehan and Tiernan looking to add their names to the roll of honour which includes Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Corey Connors, Akshay Bhatia, Davis Thompson and Ludvig Åberg.
The event which consists of 78 top amateurs will be played across 54 holes of stroke play with Grehan and Tiernan earning invites courtesy of their Walker Cup appearances for Great Britain and Ireland last September at Cypress Point.
The Jones Cup was founded in 2001 by the A.W. Jones family and the championship was created to celebrate the traditions and treasured relationships that define amateur golf.
Both Grehan and Tiernan enjoyed stellar seasons last year with Grehan joining Pádraig Harrington and Peter O’Keeffe in winning the Irish Amateur and Close titles in the same year while Tiernan enjoyed a fairytale run to the final of the Amateur Championship.
Both players featured regularly for Ireland throughout the season and will be hoping to don the GB&I colours again at the Walker Cup in Lahinch.
Although they are already back on the radar of GB&I skipper Dean Robertson, a victory for either player would put them firmly in the driving seat for selection in September at this very early stage.
Irish golfers have been regular participants in the Jones Cup including Paul Dunne, Stephen Browne, Hugh Foley, Matthew McClean, John Murphy, Mark Power, Gavin Moynihan and Tom McKibbin.
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