Author: Jesse Dodson
Davis Garner, a custom club builder at Impact Golf Center and one of the Utah Section’s newest apprentice, went 18 holes with defending champion Pete Stone Thursday to claim the Utah Section PGA Match Play Championship at Hill Air Force Base Hubbard Golf Course.
Garner, sibling to former BYU women’s golfer Leah Garner, knows how to finish a match, even if it takes 18 holes to do so. In every match except one, Garner used all 18 holes to win. The one match that didn’t go the distance ended on hole 15. That’s 105 holes in three days, including Tuesday morning’s bracket seeding VLCM Pro Am.
When asked how he would describe the week overall Garner explained, “A grind, I don’t think I’ve played that many holes in just 3 days. 36 pretty much every day.”
“I hit it really well but my putting saved me every day. I was putting really well. My lag putts were good, made a lot of 10 to 20 footers and made a lot of birdies.”
It took a lot of birdies throughout the week for Garner to make it to the final match. A 4-under 68 in the Pro Am placed him as the second seed. He then beat Brock Rasmussen, Jacob Holt and Tanner Alder (fellow employee at Impact Golf Center) to reach the semis. Garner then took on Zach Johnson before facing the defending champ in the finals.
The final match with Stone didn’t yield many birdies as Garner’s previous matches, but he still carded three in the final round. Both finalists took turns going 1 up in various moments in the match.
Garner birdied the par 3 6th to even the match and then made a 5-foot par putt on the par 4 9th (their 18th) to close out Stone, who nearly scrambled from the trees to save par and extend the match.
Garner plans on playing many of the Utah PGA scheduled events this season while he continues his PGA apprenticeship.
A special thanks to Tony Angelico, general manager and director of golf at Hill Air Force Base Hubbard Golf Course and his staff for accommodating another year of the Match Play Championship. The golf course was in championship-quality shape and provided an atmosphere the event seeks year in and year out. Also, a special thanks to VLCM for their sponsorship and support.
For full Match Play bracket results please click HERE.