At the national championship earlier this summer, Florida State’s Jack Whaley couldn’t fight off a bad headache in the middle of his round. His head coach, Trey Jones, came out and asked him “how are you with a sugary drink on the course?” Whaley perked up and said “absoutely fine with it.”
Jones brought him out a Coke, and after drinking it, Whaley noticed his headace was gone as he walked down the 10th hole. He played great on the back nine, too.
Fast forward two months to the U.S. Amateur final match at Merion, where the Englishman was in the midst of an incredible underdog run culminating with a Sunday showdown against Stanford’s Jay Leng Jr. After the morning 18, Whaley was 2 down, a deficit a U.S. Amateur winner hadn’t overcome since Tyler Strafaci in 2020.
Whaley went straight for the Coca Cola (plus grilled chicken and pasta, and a plate of fruit), and the rest is history. He won four of the first five holes in the afternoon session, never relinquishing the lead and eventually closing out Leng, 4 and 3. That must have been one helluva Coke.
“Maybe that’s my lucky charm,” Whaley said on The Loop podcast Monday.
It has become somewhat of a tradition for Whaley. Even back at Dalton State, where he spent a few seasons before transferring to FSU, he and his coach Ben Rickett, a fellow Englishman, would always grab a Coke at the turn during practice rounds.
“There was a little snack shack at the turn [at our course],” Whaley said. “[Coach Rickett] and I was always grab a Coke, and it always seemed to fire me up, and everyone said that every time. So I felt like it was necessary to go have a Coke. Obviously, it works, so I need to keep doing it.”
There should be plenty of Cokes available at the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship in 2027. Whaley will be playing in all three as the U.S. Amateur champion. He told us how special next year was going to be, and how special this last week was, during our full interview on this week’s episode of The Loop. Plus, Whaley gives us some background on his journey from Rotherham to NAIA Dalton State to a big-time school like FSU. Also, the kid is apparently a great “Call of Duty” player. Listen to our full chat below, and please like and subscribe to The Loop wherever you get your podcasts:
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
