Ask Dave Pezzino, the University of Connecticut men’s golf coach about Jared Nelson, and he’ll talk of the young man’s leadership skills. “He was like having a coach in the lineup,” said Pezzino of Nelson, who was a fifth-year player for the 2022-23 Huskies.
Ask his UConn teammates about Nelson, and they’ll talk of a player who is at his best when his back’s against the wall and the margin of error is thin.
So it stands to reason that Pezzino and those former teammates aren’t the least bit surprised by how Nelson reacted to circumstances that were essentially dire in the fourth round of the first stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament last Friday out in Maricopa, Ariz.
With only the top 20 and ties in position to advance to the second stage, Nelson was “five or six” outside the cut through 54 holes, by his estimation, but his game plan would remain the same for the fourth round. “Just trying to focus on good golf,” said the Rutland, Vt., native.