MARIETTA-Jared Hammons is taking his talents to Miami. Not the one in South Beach, the one in Ohio. Oxford, to be exact.
Marietta High's senior golf standout had a high school career to write home about, and Hammons is ready to take his game to the collegiate level.
"It's been a dream of mine to play D-1 golf since the seventh grade," Hammons said. "It's unreal. I've worked very hard for it. Miami could be a career gateway for me into professional golf. It's a great opportunity for me to represent Marietta."
The list of accolades for Hammons throughout high school goes on and on.
He is a two-time East Central Ohio League Player of the Year and has also been named district and sectional Player of the Year in his career. Hammons had a scoring average of 72.2 per 18 holes (36.1 per nine) and medaled 11 times during his senior season. He also hit 5.13 fairways per nine holes, 5.25 greens per nine holes, and has been an Academic All-ECOL selection.
"It's going to be hard to replace someone like Jared," said Marietta golf coach John Doughty. "He was a leader for us on and off the golf course. He works very hard and he's a competitor. For us, we don't win as many matches this season without him."
Doughty's first year at the helm for the Tigers was this fall as he succeeded longtime Marietta coach Joe Matheny. Matheny along with swing coach Doug Davis and short game coach Brad Sparling have had big influences on Hammons' development as a golfer.
Hammons has used his summers to help him gain experience as well, competing in local tournaments as well as the American Junior Golf Association in the past. He was noticed by two major Division I programs, Miami and Northern Illinois. In the end, a visit to Oxford sealed the deal.
"During my visit (to Miami), I was very impressed," Hammons said.
