Filip Jakubcik set his sights on playing golf when he was around two and a half years old, and he hasn’t let up for a minute.
Well, maybe just long enough to pursue a difficult major at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — economics.
When he’s not studying, the 5-10 sophomore golfer from the Czech Republic can be found working on his game.
Jakubcik is starting to see dividends from what he calls, “being stubborn†with all that practicing.
He won his first collegiate tournament, The Western Intercollegiate, last weekend, shooting a career low of 206; he secured the win after back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. He earned Pac-12 golfer of the week honors for that performance.
On the very same day, he was selected to play in the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup this summer in Lahinch, Ireland — the first golfer from the Czech Republic to earn a spot.
People are also reading…
While all of this notoriety could easily go to any young person’s head, not Jakubcik. He’s as steady as they come.
“I wish I could capture the recipe because I’d share it with everybody,†ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Jim Anderson said.
“Filip is absolutely a leader when it comes to composure, and he demonstrates that externally. But I also believe internally he’s very composed, too. And it doesn’t matter the situation. He knows his numbers. He knows what works for him. He sticks to the to the same routine, same process with decision-making, regardless of the situation. It’s fun to see it coming together for him, the way it has this year.â€
The Wildcats hope they can continue to rely on Jakubcik’s calm demeanor as they tee it up at the Pac-12 Championships starting Friday at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, ranked No. 11 in the nation, has three team wins this season — the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Thunderbirds Intercollegiate and the Cooper Cup — and 13 other top 10 finishes this season, including runner-up in N.I.T. and Jackson T. Stephens Cup. Tiger Christensen won the Stephens Cup and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Thunderbirds Intercollegiate.
Jakubcik found his way onto the podium for the first time as a Wildcat with a third-place finish in the fall at the Sahalee Players Championship. In his freshman season, he posted a 72.32 scoring average — fourth-best for a rookie in UA history.
As a freshman, Jakubcik shot a 66 in the first round of the Western Intercollegiate but faded after that. That is just a little of what helped him this year. The greens are what Jakubcik calls “sloping†and really challenge golfers.
Consistent, calm composure
This is where Jakubcik’s composure comes in. While Anderson put it nicely that golfers usually have “moments†where their patience is tested, Jakubcik knew what was coming and was able to manage his emotions — even after a double-bogey in the second round.
“That goes back to a long time ago when I first saw him play golf,†Anderson said. “His move is very repeatable and he finds the center of the clubface a lot. He’s not playing a ton of golf where he’s really stressed out. He just doesn’t put balls in spots where it becomes really difficult to score.
“By not doing that he plays a little bit boring. But as we say boring is good. He gives himself a lot of looks,†he added. “People oftentimes don’t have the ability to stay patient enough over that long of a of a runway (54 or 72 holes) to not make enough mistakes and he just wins through attrition a lot of times.â€
And still, one of the first things Jakubcik will tell you is that while “everything felt pretty good†last weekend and that his short game and putting has improved over last season, his backswing isn’t quite right.
He has been working with his golf coach from back home via video calls.
“My elbows are far apart,†Jakubcik said. “I would like them to be slightly closer to each other on the top of my backswing. I use a tool that’s called Tour Striker — it’s a ball that you put in between your elbows. When you go to the backswing it helps you keep them together. I’m not there yet, but it has definitely helped.â€
Jakubcik feels a kinship with his personal coach, Andre Drupl, who used to be his dad’s coach. They’ve known each other basically Jakubcik’s entire life from when he started following his dad around the golf course.
He’s helped Jakubcik develop a swing that fit his body but also has elements of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. It’s really in the way “they shift their weight and overall, just their motion†that intrigued Drupl and Jakubcik.
“It gives me more stability and a clean path for my arms,†Jakubcik said. “When I was younger, I used to be really handsy. I would just show my hands and not rotate enough. Now they sort of follow my body instead of just navigating just my arms.â€
There wasn’t much downtime between the final regular season tournament and the Pac-12 Championships, but Jakubcik wouldn’t have it any other way. He can’t wait to get back on the course, one of his favorite places.
“Golf is so cool because it’s so unpredictable what’s going to happen,†Jakubcik said. “It’s sort of like the game of life. You can hit a good shot, you can end up terrible and the other way around, as well. You can make a bad decision and they could sort of get worked out. You never know what’s going happen until you do it.â€
Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at pjbrown@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @PJBrown09