The college golf career of Sam Jean has trended in the preferred direction since he stepped on the University of Cincinnati campus.
As a senior, he faces the most daunting of challenges – improving upon what he accomplished last season after tying for second at the American Atlantic Conference (AAC) tournament in Brooksville, Florida.
“I would say I was fairly happy with how it went,” said Jean, a 2018 Center Grove graduate who helped lead the Trojans to a state title his junior season and runner-up finish the following spring. “I feel that I made a lot of good improvements on my game. Definitely my putting.”
Last summer, Jean, an engineering major at Cincinnati, worked at ATI Industrial Automation in Raleigh, North Carolina. That didn’t allow him as much time to work on his golf game as he would’ve liked, but he’s making up for lost time.
Jean participated in four events over the past two months, starting with a third-place showing at the Northern Kentucky Amateur. He tied for fifth at the Chattanooga (Tennessee) Choo Choo Invitational with a 6-under-par score and tied for 28th at the TMGA Amateur Championship in Independence, Minnesota.
Jean also played at Pinehurst, North Carolina, host of the North and South Amateur Championship. He placed 37th there, just missing an opportunity to continue on in match-play competition.
“It was a solid summer,” Jean said. “I feel good about where my game is at.”
The Bearcats open the fall season at the Hoosier Invitational over Labor Day weekend. It gives Jean an opportunity to reunite with — and compete against — former Center Grove and teammates Ethan Shepherd and Noah Gillard, both now playing at Indiana.
“I’m always looking forward to getting back into the season and seeing (Gillard and Shepherd) again,” Jean said. “We mostly just talk about how life is going, since we don’t see each other very often.”
In terms of athletic eligibility, Jean is still a junior due to the 2020 season being cut short by the pandemic after only two tournaments. That works out well for Jean as his major is a five-year commitment; he’ll graduate from Cincinnati in the spring of 2023.
Doug Martin, who’ll soon start his 17th season as the Bearcats’ coach, looks forward to watching Jean punctuate his college career with two more outstanding seasons.
“Sam is getting better every year,” Martin said. “He has tremendous work ethic, and Sam is an engineer, and our engineering program is very demanding. He’s the consummate student-athlete.
“Sam is very quiet. I would consider him a leader by example. When he does have something to say, it’s of value. Our team has a tremendous bond and we have nothing but high-quality kids. Sam is one of them.”
All five starters from a team that placed third at the AAC tourney return.
“Last spring was all right, but not exactly what we hoped for,” Jean said. “But we’ve got everybody back, so I’m excited to see what the season holds for us because I feel we have a lot of potential.”
