July 30--SAMMAMISH -- One year after making a name for himself in the U.S. Senior Open, amateur Tim Jackson was back in contention again.

Jackson, with his 16-year-old son, Austin, caddying for him, shot a 2-under 68 Thursday at Sahalee Country Club. He is tied for second and was leading the 29 amateurs in the event by five shots.

Tim who?

That's what many were saying last year when he led the Senior Open through the first two rounds at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind., after entering with a goal of just making the cut. After opening with rounds of 66 and 67 -- the two lowest scores by an amateur in Senior Open history -- he faded on the weekend and finished tied for 11th.

But here he is again. Jackson, 51, had just one bogey and kept his round going well with a 15-foot par putt on No. 12 after hitting his drive into the trees.

"I must be doing something right, I guess," he said. "Sure, I have the experience now but I am still going to be nervous and antsy, that's just the way it is."

Jackson, a real-estate developer from Germantown, Tenn., hasn't been unknown to followers of amateur golf. He is a two-time champion of the prestigious U.S. Mid-Amateur and was the stroke-play medalist at last year's U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.

Jackson actually printed out an application in 2008 for Champions Tour qualifying school, but it never left his desk.

"With all of the stuff I had in business going on, and with Austin now playing golf, I just didn't want to miss any of that," he said.

Father and son can share this week.

"This tournament is my year," said Jackson, who took several months off last winter and only plays a couple of times a week during golfing season. "It's the one tournament I point to."

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