Columbus’ Jonathan Parker named All-Bi-City Boys Golfer of the Year

Columbus High School golfer Jonathan Parker has a special souvenir from his sophomore year sitting in the kitchen of his home.

It’s a yellow pin flag, not unlike many he has encountered in countless hours on golf courses across the Southeast, but this one has a new designated purpose. It came from Columbus Country Club, will soon be signed by Parker’s teammates and then framed as a memento.

Parker and his teammates claimed the flag back on May 23, soon after the team had won its second straight state championship. Parker was the first to come bounding out of the country club’s ballroom in pursuit of the flag, despite the rain that caused the cancellation of the final round of the Class 4A state championship.

Parker took off toward the pin just as he had taken off on the course the day before. Parker turned in a 68 in the first round of the tournament and stood as one of three Columbus players to shoot under 70. The play of Parker and the other Blue Devils helped Columbus take the state title by 15 strokes.

For his efforts at state and the tournaments that preceded it, Parker has been selected as the All-Bi-City Boys Golfer of the Year.

“We were pretty confident,” Parker said. “We had the entire team coming back from the last year. We felt like we were even stronger than we were last year, having everybody back and us practicing the whole year.”

Parker was part of a trio of Columbus golfers that traded the lowest scores all season. Senior Nolan Miller and junior Ben Carr were routinely in the hunt for top billing for Columbus, which won seven of its 11 tournaments and finished second in the other four.

Parker said the top-notch play of all three was a motivator throughout the year, as it built a friendly competition.

“I thought it was fun,” Parker said. “It was really competitive between the three of us, trying to see who had the lowest score. We were always talking about shooting the lowest score with each other. We put out some good scores out for the team.”

The tight grouping between the three didn’t change in the state tournament, either. Playing at Columbus’ home course, Parker topped Miller and Carr by one stroke, which was good enough for second-low medalist.

Parker said besides the state tournament, playing in the Georgia-South Carolina Challenge Cup and the Hardaway Invitational were the highlights of his season. He made the most of those prestigious tournaments, shooting a team-low 146 in the Challenge Cup and posting a 143 at Hardaway.

Parker is coached by his father, Chris, who has been Columbus’ head coach since 1994. Chris said he’s seen a lot of growth in his son’s game since he reached high school, saying he’s dropped his scoring average by nearly four strokes per round. His 76 average as a freshman was nothing to sneeze at; reaching nearly 73-flat demonstrates the improvements he’s made.

The father-son duo has won two state titles in their first two years together at Columbus. For Chris, it’s hard to really fathom how much those shared experiences mean while the two are still in the moment.

“I really don’t think I’ll understand how special that’ll be until years down the road,” Chris said. “I think it will sink in more then that we were able to do this a couple of times. We’ve still got two more chances.”

Parker plans to make the most of those remaining two chances. He’s busy playing in several junior golf tournaments this summer while also working toward even more success as a junior.

The Blue Devils lose Miller and fellow graduates Ben Womack and Daniel Davis, but for Parker, that’s no excuse not to go 3-for-3.

“The main goal is just to win state junior year, too,” Parker said. “As long as we keep practicing, I think we can get another state championship next year.”

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Columbus’ Jonathan Parker named All-Bi-City Boys Golfer of the Year."