Dublin Jerome senior Brady Barnum has already reached the pinnacle of high school golf, earning Division I state medalist honors last season while leading the Celtics to the team championship.
He hopes to duplicate those feats next month, but before he can focus solely on Jerome and the OHSAA postseason, he will play in a tournament that he calls “the biggest honor” of his career.
Barnum earned a spot on the United States team for the Junior Presidents Cup on Sept. 20 and 21 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Practice rounds began Sept. 17.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten the opportunity to represent the United States,” he said. “This is the biggest tournament, the biggest honor that I’ve had the opportunity to play.
It’s going to be an awesome experience.”
Founded in 2017, the event features the world’s top amateur golfers 19 and younger, with the United States facing an international team that excludes Europe.
“We’re going to be playing the best international golfers outside of Europe,” said Barnum, who will be playing at Medinah for the first time.
Following the tournament, Barnum and his U.S. teammates will watch the professionals compete in the Presidents Cup on Sept. 24-27, also at Medinah.
Jerome coach Brad Sparling is looking forward to watching Barnum play in the world event.
“What makes him special is that no matter the difficulty of the course, even on his worst day, he figures out a way to get it done,” Sparling said. “He’s a great team player. He’s dependable. He’s a really cool person. He’s going to be awesome on that U.S. team. He earned his way onto that Presidents Cup team and he’s going to really shine on the big stage.”
Barnum earned the 12th and final qualifying spot on the U.S. team by finishing second (7-under-par 209) in the three-round Junior Players Championship on Sept. 3-6 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. JP Lynch, an Oklahoma commit from Austin, Texas, finished first (208).
A Georgia commit, Barnum tuned up for the Presidents Cup by leading Jerome to its second straight first-place finish (tournament-record 584) in the 22nd annual Kiely Cup on Sept. 13 and 14 at Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood in suburban Cleveland.
Jerome finished ahead of Cleveland St. Ignatius (595) and St. Charles (603). Barnum shot 137 to earn medalist honors, his eighth individual title of the season.
The Celtics open the OHSAA postseason at sectional Sept. 29 at Denison Golf Club. The top four teams and top four individuals not on qualifying teams advance to district Oct. 6 at Apple Valley.
At district, the top three teams and top three individuals not on qualifying teams advance to state Oct. 12 and 13 at NCR Country Club in Kettering.
“We’re just as good, if not better, as we were last year,” Barnum said. “My brother [Blaise] has been playing really well. Last year’s sophomores who are now juniors have been stepping it up. They’ve filled in the holes that we had. We’re a very complete team. Everyone can [shoot] well.”
Barnum’s medalist performance (137) at state last year led Jerome to its first championship since 2019 and 10th overall. He also was named The Dispatch’s Boys Golfer of the Year.
Brimming with confidence in his game, Barnum hopes Georgia is just the next step on his golf journey.
“I want to play on the PGA Tour,” he said. “I want to have a long, healthy career, win as many majors as I can and be the No. 1 player in the world. You have to be confident. ... These are the experiences that I’ve dreamed about. The taste of professional golf before I actually turn professional is playing in tournaments like the Junior Presidents Cup.”
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jerome golfer Brady Barnum to represent U.S. in Junior Presidents Cup
