It’s a Christmas to remember for Tennessee sophomore golfer Jackson Herrington - and not just because of the holiday cheer. Earlier this week, Herrington received an official invitation from Augusta National to compete in the 2026 Masters Tournament. That’s right - one of the most storied stages in golf just called his name.
The invite didn’t come out of nowhere. Herrington earned his golden ticket this past summer with a runner-up finish at the 2025 U.S.
Amateur, held at the iconic Olympic Club in San Francisco. That performance alone punched his ticket to Augusta, as the top two finishers at the U.S.
Amateur automatically qualify for the Masters.
To understand how impressive that run was, you’ve got to look at what the U.S. Amateur demands.
It starts with a 312-player field - a who’s who of elite amateur talent from across the country. After two grueling days of stroke play, only 64 players advance to match play.
From there, it’s a six-day gauntlet of head-to-head, 18-hole battles, capped off by a 36-hole final. It’s golf’s version of March Madness - and Herrington made it all the way to the title match.
Herrington’s path to the final was anything but easy. He finished 37th in stroke play to make the cut, then edged out Chase Devins one-up in the Round of 64.
He followed that with a 4&3 win over Brady Siravo in the Round of 32 and survived a 20-hole thriller against Caleb Bond in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he took care of business with a 4&2 victory over Jimmy Abdo, then outlasted hometown favorite Niall Shiels Donegan one-up in the semifinals.
That semifinal clash was Herrington’s defining moment. Up two with three holes to play, it looked like he might cruise into the final.
But Shiels Donegan, a big hitter with the local crowd behind him, mounted a late charge. Herrington bogeyed the par-5 16th, and Shiels Donegan birdied the 17th to square the match heading to the 18th.
What came next was pure clutch. On the short par-4 18th, Herrington played a smart 4-iron into the fairway, then dialed in a wedge to about six feet. With the pressure dialed up to the max, he calmly sank the birdie putt to close out the match and punch his ticket to the championship.
The final didn’t go his way - he ran out of steam in the 36-hole showdown against Mason Howell, falling 7&6 - but by then, the mission was already accomplished. The Masters invite was secured.
Herrington, a lefty from Dickson, Tennessee, now joins an exclusive club. He’s just the third former Tennessee golfer to earn a spot in the Masters.
Oliver Goss (runner-up at the 2013 U.S. Amateur) and Garrick Porteous (2013 British Amateur champ) both teed it up at Augusta in 2014.
Now, Herrington’s name gets added to that short but proud list.
He’s not the only Vol making noise on the national stage, either. Earlier this year, Tennessee’s Lance Simpson competed in the 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, showing just how far the program has come in developing top-tier talent.
As for Herrington’s current season, he’s been quietly building momentum. He played in four events for Tennessee this fall, posting a 71.42 scoring average and notching one top-10 finish. With the spring season looming, there’s a lot to be excited about - both for Herrington’s college career and what lies ahead in April 2026.
Because now, the next time he tees it up in competition, it might just be down Magnolia Lane.