It’s already a Merry Christmas for sophomore Tennessee golfer Jackson Herrington. The Board of Governors at Augusta National Golf Club officially sent Herrington his invitation to compete in the 2026 Masters Tournament earlier this week.
Pretty nice early Christmas present for @Vol_Golf sophomore Jackson Herrington. Invite to the 2026 @TheMasters !!! #GBO🍊 pic.twitter.com/2KkJaPxPRM
— Brennan Webb (@CoachWebbUTVols) December 23, 2025
Herrington earned his invitation this summer when he was the runner-up at the 2025 US Amateur at the Olympic Club in San Fransisco. The top two finishers at the event automatically qualify for the event.
The US Amateur is a 312-player event. They whittle the field down to 64 after two days of stroke play. Then over the next six days, players competed in 18-hole match play contests before finishing with a 36-hole match play final.
Herrington finished 37th in the two plays of stroke play before defeating Chase Devins one-up in the Round of 64, Brady Siravo 4&3 in the Round of 32, Caleb Bond in a 20-hole thriller in the Round of 16, Jimmy Abdo 4&2 in the Quarterfinals and Niall Shiels Donegan one-up in the Semifinals.
More From RTI: Music City Bowl Confirms Tennessee Football Will Wear These Jerseys vs. Illinois
The left-handed golfer ran out of juice in the 36-hole championship match, losing to Mason Howell 7&6.
The moment of the tournament for Herrington came in the semifinals against the hometown Shiels Donegan. Herrington led by two with three holes to play and the big hitter seemingly had an advantage on the par five 16th and 17th. But Shield Donegan came storming back, capitalizing on a Herrington bogey on 16 and making birdie on 17 to tie the match entering the 18th.
The Dickson, Tennessee native is just the third ever former Tennessee golfer to play in the Masters. Both Oliver Goss, who finished in second at the 2013 US Amateur, and Garrick Porteous, who won the 2013 British Amateur, played in the 2014 Masters.
More recently, Tennessee golfer Lance Simpson played in the 2025 US Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Herrington played in four tournaments for Tennessee this fall, posting a 71.42 scoring average with one top 10 finish. The college golf season ramps up to another level in the spring semester.
