Luke Sample (Jones Cup/Madison Balfe Photo)

Sample started his round on hole No. 10 and recorded seven birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey. He bogeyed his first hole of the day, birdied holes No. 11, 13, 14, and 16 to bounce back, but made a double bogey on No. 18 as he made the turn to the front nine. He birdied holes No. 1, 6, and 7 on the front to get to 4-under. 

Albright recorded six birdies, but a double bogey on hole No. 16 saw him finish at 4-under. He started strong, also starting on the back nine, with birdies on holes No. 10, 11, and 14. 

Sample is ranked No. 40, and Albright is ranked No. 141 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.

"I didn't really do anything special out there mentally," Sample told the Jones Cup. "I really focused on doing what I was doing out there. I hit 17 greens, and the double bogey was a four-putt, and the bogey was a three-putt."

"I started good, I was hitting some good quality iron shots to some good spots around the holes," Albright told the Jones Cup. "I was making some putts early, which was good to see to give me some confidence."

Sample made the semifinals of the 2024 British Amateur, the final 64 of the 2024 U.S. Amateur, and finished T12 at the European Amateur. Albright won the 2024 Watersound Invitational.  

Jack Turner of Florida is in solo third place at 3-under, while Jackson Van Paris of Vanderbilt is in solo fourth place at 2-under. Simon Hovdal of Texas Tech, Paul Chang of Virginia, Jonathan Bale of Louisiana Tech, and Connor Graham of Texas Tech are all T5 and 1-under to round out the top five. 

The Jones Cup was born from the A.W. Jones family's deep commitment to amateur golf. The family founded the Cloister and Sea Island Golf Club in 1928. The Sea Island Golf Club has hosted seven USGA championships. The Jones Cup is yet another extension of the family's strong involvement in amateur golf.

First contested in 2001 as a Walker Cup preview, the Jones Cup began as an opportunity to celebrate not only the game of golf but also the camaraderie and fellowship associated with it. This 54-hole individual stroke-play event is played at Ocean Forest Golf Club.

The Rees Jones design opened in 1995 and has hosted the Georgia State Amateur Championship, the Southern Amateur Championship, and the 2001 Walker Cup Match. The Jones Cup brings together many of the finest amateurs from the United States and abroad for this three-day competition.

While the golf course proves to be a great venue for this unique event, the Jones Cup's success and popularity can be attributed to the strength of the players who comprise its field.

Past participants range from current and future PGA Tour stars Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover, Dustin Johnson, Chris Kirk, Jeff Overton, Webb Simpson, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, and Gary Woodland, as well as Past Champions DJ Trahan, Luke List, Kyle Stanley, Patrick Reed, Justin Thomas, Ludvig Aberg, Corey Connors, Davis Thompson, and Akshay Bhatia.