Author: Jesse Dodson
The Utah PGA Winter Classic, Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting kicked off the 2019 season on February 5-7 in St. George. Used for a time to gather Section members together, play some golf and get the year started on the right foot.
“The Utah PGA Winter Classic, Annual Meetings and Awards Banquet has become a tradition since the inception of the Utah Section PGA back in the late 1980’s,” said Utah PGA Executive Director Devin Dehlin. “I still remember my first time attending the event back in 1991 and how inspired I was by many of the golf professionals I had looked up to growing up. This is a great time to meet new professionals and to be inspired.”
Alongside the Winter Classic tournament is the annual Awards Banquet, held this year at Bloomington Country Club after the Pro-Scramble played at Entrada Country Club.
“The Awards banquet is always the highlight and sets the tone for the week. I also think it sets the tone for the whole year as it inspires us to go back and do something new and better during the upcoming season. I thought this year was exceptional even with the cold weather. The weather is always a roll of the dice in early February, but the members made the best of it and enjoyed the week.”
The banquet and Annual Meeting are used to highlight the previous year and set the stage for the coming season. This year, Section members were encouraged to wear bow ties at the banquet to honor Doug Vilven and his impact on the Utah Section.
Though there was plenty of time spent in the meetings, golf was being played and Chris Moody and Brad Stone stood out above the rest with electric final rounds.
After round one of individual play at Bloomington Country Club, Moody found himself four-strokes back of leader Shawn Edwards. But with a final-round 65 at Sunbrook he slipped by with a one-point victory over Casey Fowles. Moody finished with 87 Stableford points and another Utah Section trophy to take home.
“You never know what game will show up when it’s 42 degrees, windy and rainy,” Moody said. “In the final round, I was fortunate to be in a groove somehow with my ball striking. I didn’t miss-hit too many shots and when I did hit a bad shot, I got away with it and was able to manage a stress-free par.”
“Golf is a crazy game,” Moody continued. “I always think of Coach Jerry Sloan as far as winning goes: There are so many great players in our Section so I never take a win for granted, because you never know when the next win will come.”
Doug Roberts won the Senior Flight with 81 Stableford points, leaving the event with a four-stroke victory over 2018 Senior Player of the Year Ryan Rhees. And Brad Stone won the Super Senior Flight with a final-round 64, the low score of the week. With 9 birdies and bogey, Stone finished with 86 Stableford points, almost enough to win the entire event.
Sam Crawford, a new PGA associate in the Section was the low-lady in the Winter Classic with 53 points and Bruce Summerhays took the Legend Flight with 60 points.
A big thanks to Mike Stanger and Under Armour for sponsoring and Entrada CC, Bloomington CC and Sunbrook Golf Club for hosting. The 2019 season is off to a great start thanks to all our Section Professionals.