Switch-hitting William Sides rolls with the punches to capture Jones Cup
SEA ISLAND, Ga. – With his right, he hit the winning shot.
And with his left, he polished it off.
That was the aptly named William Sides on Ocean Forest’s signature par-3, the 224-yard 17th hole. The SMU senior was clinging to a one-shot lead with two holes to play on a gusty, cool Sunday at the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational. But as Sides’ closest challenger Tom Fischer was double-bogeying the hole behind, Sides proved why he’s considered one of the best long-iron players in the game, flushing a 6-iron to 7 feet. He then grabbed his left-handed putter, a switch he made three years ago, and curled in the birdie for a three-shot lead.
He played three shots lefty to two righty in bogeying the par-4 finishing hole, but it mattered little, as Sides still shot another 3-under 69 to win by two shots at 6 under.
As he walked off the last green, the visored Sides handed his putter to his caddie, buddy Matthew Smith, who then returned the club to Sides’ bag with its mallet cover, which is dotted with the phrase: PLAY OR PERISH.
Sides is familiar with those crossroads.
When Sides arrived in Dallas as a freshman in Fall 2022, the putting struggles – you could call them yips – had already rooted. He could still shoot under par, though it’d require hitting 16 or 17 greens. And even that got increasingly harder as the flatstick got worse.
“I’d look at him through my binoculars from a distance and see his hands full-on shaking,” SMU head coach Chris Parra said.
Sides didn’t qualify for the Mustangs’ season opener, and he was on his way to missing a second straight start when he three-putted the last hole at Trinity Forest, SMU’s home facility, from 25 feet. After the first stroke ended up 2 feet short, somehow the next didn’t reach the hole either, by a few inches. That was the final straw, as Parra, who dealt with chipping issues as a pro, called Sides into his office. It was there when Parra and then-assistant Brandon Wilkins asked Sides, a talented soccer player who kicked lefty, if he’d considered putting left-handed.
“He’d walk off the golf course and be in shock,” Parra said. “I thought if I don’t do something and try to help him, he’s going to quit golf.”
Sides took their advice, grabbing a lefty putter from the building. Two days later, he shot 5-under 67.
He’s since climbed to No. 35 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He’s won each of the last two editions of the Stephens Cup. He’s yet to place outside the top 10 at conference in three tries. He was runner-up at the Trans-Miss two years ago, and he made match play at both the U.S. and Western amateurs last summer.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Sides said. “The way you frame bad tournaments or things that you go through can help set you up for the future, where you’re more confident and a better player because of it.”
Sides now joins a list of Jones Cup winners that includes Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed, Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia, who won the 2019 title in the first weather-shortened event in tournament history, which dates to 2001.
