SET FOR A SWING: Brycen Jones swings the club during a recent golf match.

THOMASVILLE – Thomasville Bulldog Brycen Jones took home the state championship at the 3A golf state championship tournament on Tuesday. This marked Jones’ third consecutive state championship.

“It feels awesome,” Jones said. “Just that relief when that guy made his last putt and the scores got posted and then all those nerves just finally went away. To know I three-peated is just an awesome feeling.”

Jones finished the first day of the tournament with a frustrating 74 after a difficult start to the day, putting him two over par.

“I was more frustrated with the first day, knowing that I had a good round out there; I just kind of had a rough start. I knew if I could just play like I knew I could then the second day would fall into place,” he said.

And fall into place it did, as Jones clinched the state title with an impressive 68, finishing 4 under.

Jones has been with the Bulldogs since seventh grade and, according to Athletic Director Jeremy Rayburn, Jones was built for success. 

“He came to us in the seventh grade and you could tell then that he was driven and worked hard already,” Rayburn said. 

Now that his high school career is done, Jones will take his talents to Georgia Southern. Playing for Georgia Southern has been a long time goal for Jones.

“Even when he was in middle school, that was his goal,” Rayburn said. “Their golf program has grown quite a bit in the last few years and he identified that as where he wanted to be.”

It’s also about family for Jones. His parents attended Georgia Southern and he has family in the area. Plus, the Eagles golf program as grown into a fantastic program.

“The community there is awesome. The teams that coach Collins, the head coach at Georgia Southern, has built have just been amazing,” Jones said. “You just feel like you belong there.”

Jones had a great high school career at Thomasville and now that he is moving to the next level, Rayburn is expecting big things.

“His work ethic and his attitude about the game is there. With his preparation, yes, I believe that the sky is the limit and hopefully we will get to claim him one day as a Thomasville graduate on one of the professional tours,” Rayburn concluded.