Jon Jennings, Shinnecock Hills superintendent, honored at U.S. Open
There wasn’t a Long Islander in the field at the U.S. Open, but there was one who came away from it with a trophy.
Jon Jennings, the long-time superintendent of Shinnecock Hills, was presented with the E.J. Marshall Platter by the USGA at the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday. The award recognizes “championship golf course management” and honors those who “demonstrate seamless collaboration with the USGA ahead of a national championship.” The USGA said this particular year’s award would extend to the entire Shinnecock Hills maintenance staff and the army of 3,000 or so volunteers who worked behind the scenes at the 126th U.S. Open.
“It's just exciting to have the world of golf focus on us for that week,” Jennings said as the ramp-up toward this week’s tournament was kicking into high gear. “It's a historic place. It's an amazing facility. If you haven't seen Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, whether you're watching it on television or coming out in person, it's just one of those striking places that will be in your memory for the rest of your life.”
Now Jennings is a platter-carrying part of that tradition.
The E.J. Marshall Platter is named after the former chair of the green committee at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, in the 1920s.
Jennings has worked at Shinnecock since 2012 and led a restoration of the course’s original design that included the widening of fairways, clearing of invasive stones from bunkers, expanding the signature fescue along the boundaries, and protecting the dunes.
Shinnecock Hills has hosted six U.S. Opens and is the only venue to have hosted one in each of three different centuries.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to return to Shinnecock Hills in 2036.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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