Ashland Golfer Surprises Fans at Northern Trust Open

An Ashland High School graduate who was the 1996 Oregon High School golf champion, Jason Allred, went on to play on the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour. Before that, he competed in collegiate golf at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., where he graduated in 2002.
Despite being the best golfer for years from Southern Oregon, Allred never finished higher than a tie for 14th in 39 PGA Tour starts. He was 205th on the money list in 2005 and 221st in 2008. He was ranked number 900 in the world as he headed in February 2014 for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Up to then his best tournaments had been winning the 1997 U.S. Junior Championship and competing in the British Open and U.S. Open. But he had never given up hope for playing well on the PGA Tour. Allred surprised everyone at the Northern Trust Open, ending up tied for third place. He had shot an average three-under-par 68 for four rounds, and missed second place by one stroke. The placing earned 33-year-old Allred $388,600 in prize money, more than all his career earnings up to that point.
Sources: "Ashland's Jason Allred amazes with tie for 3rd on PGA Tour." Portland (Ore.) Tribune 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Trower, Tim. "Storybook Week for Allred." Mail-Tribune 17 Feb. 2014 [Medford, Ore.] . Web. 19 Mar. 2014.