Call it another step in the evolution of Palmer Jackson.

The soon-to-be junior at Notre Dame is a very accomplished golfer, one of the best in the nation.

And while he’s competed in and won a variety of amateur events, Jackson’s arrow continues to point higher and higher in the golf world.

He lit up the world of the 68th Sunnehanna Amateur Friday by producing nine birdies to go along with three bogeys and found himself playing in the last group of the day, right in the middle of the hunt.

Palmer Jackson stood outside the scoring area at Sunnehanna Country Club Thursday and offered his perspective on where he stood after two rounds of the 68th Sunnehanna Amateur.

“I think I’m still in this,” Jackson said. “Especially if I can get out and get a few early birdies, I can put some pressure on those top guys and then we’ll see.”

And see we did.

Friday afternoon, Jackson put on a clinic on a course that was playing terrifyingly difficult thanks to the firmness of the course and the winds association with an approaching storm system that could affect final-round play.