SCARBOROUGH, N.Y. — Almost everyone knows the name — and actor — Samuel Jackson.
Another Samuel Jackson, however, is making a name for himself, advancing to the semifinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.
In addition to being a standout amateur golfer, Jackson also has a day job working in sales for Pella Windows and Doors in his native South Carolina. And when he’s helping clients, they sometimes get a glimmer of hope that they’re about to meet the Pulp Fiction star.
“It’s funny enough, my work, my online portal name is Samuel Jackson,” he told GolfChannel.com on Wednesday. “So whenever customers make an appointment with me, it comes up as Samuel Jackson.
“So I’ve gotten a lot of jokes about how they expect an actor to show up at their house and not me. I always have to tell them, ‘Sorry to disappoint you and I’ll do what I can for you.’”
Jackson, though, rarely disappoints on the golf course. The 30-year-old was the 2022 South Carolina Golf Association Player of the Year and has won numerous events following his college career at Presbyterian College.
Surprisingly, he didn’t pick up the game until he was a teenager. Yet, he qualified for the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur, which was a wake-up call for him.
“At that time, it was kind of more of a wow factor of being there than anything else,” Jackson said. “I really wasn’t, definitely wasn’t prepared to be on that kind of stage.”
But he has continued to tee it up in tournaments, becoming more comfortable in competitive environments, particularly in recent years. Working in sales, he’s been able to make his own schedule and can squeeze in plenty of practice time.
Now, he’s in a position to win the Mid-Am, one of golf’s most prestigious amateur tournaments after beating his friend, Stephen Behr, 1 up in the quarterfinals. On the par-4 18th, Jackson got up-and down-from a steep, embedded lie in the greenside rough and holed a 7-foot par putt for the victory.
“Stephen has accomplished a heck of a lot more in this game than I have,” Jackson said afterward. “I’ve played some practice rounds with him, last year and this year in this event. We’ve played some other practice rounds together throughout the year. I know his game really well. ... Stephen is a great dude, and I hate to be the one to beat him, but we had fun out there. It was a good match.”
However, Jackson knows there’s still some business to be taken care of before he can hoist the trophy, including a semifinal matchup with two-time Mid-Am champion Stewart Hagestad.
If Jackson can emerge victorious this week, he would secure a tee time in next year’s Masters. Jackson has played at Augusta National before, as he grew up 45 minutes from there. Plus, his finance is from Augusta, Georgia, and her family still lives there.
“It would mean the world obviously,” Jackson said of possibly playing in the Masters.
And if he can notch that feat, the world will become aware of another Samuel Jackson.
