Monthly Archives: September 2023

Twelve All-Star teams will tee off in the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West Oct. 4-8. The Inaugural 17u Championship at New Mexico’s Twin Warriors Golf Club follows Nov. 16-19.

In two weeks, 96 junior golfers ages 10-13 comprising 12 Regional Champion All-Star teams will travel to PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch West to compete in the 11th edition of the 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship, to be held Oct. 4-8 and broadcast live on ESPN networks. 

It’s an exciting year for PGA Jr. League as a whole. In addition to celebrating a record 72,000 participants this year to date, 2023 marks the first year the 13u Championship will be held at the new Home of the PGA of America as well as the launch of the inaugural 17u Championship, set for Nov. 16-19 at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

The 13u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship includes Team Utah (Thanksgiving Point A/Lehi) with PGA of America Coach Tele Wightman and Assistant Coach Jared Huish. Team Utah was the 2021 National Champions.

The 13u Championship kicks off Wednesday, Oct. 4, with the National Car Rental Welcome Party, followed by the annual Skills Challenge Thursday, Oct. 5. Rounds one and two will take place Friday and Saturday (Oct. 6-7), during which teams will compete in a two-person scramble, team aggregate stroke play format. The Championship concludes with match play semifinal and final rounds on Sunday, Oct. 8. The eight teams not competing in the semifinals can participate in the Fields Ranch Roundup, a 9-hole, two-person scramble.

In November, 12 Regional Champion All-Star teams of 72 junior golfers ages 14-17 will take center stage in the inaugural 17u National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship, Nov. 16-19, at Twin Warriors Golf Club in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

Included in the field is Team Utah (Glenmoor GOATS) with PGA of America Coach Darci Olsen and PGA of America Assistant Coach Bruce Summerhays.

National Car Rental was named the inaugural title partner of the Championship Season in 2021. PGA Jr. League’s biggest corporate partner since 2018, as well as an Official Partner and the Official Rental Car of the PGA of America since 2012, National’s title partnership aims to continue fueling meaningful growth of PGA Jr. League and support the program’s endeavors to welcome more kids to the game.

Read more about the 13U Thanksgiving Point A and 17U Glenmoor GOATS teams in the August issue of Junior Fairways, Click here.

PGA Teaching Professional Tommy Sharp won the Utah PGA Professional Championship this week at Toana Vista Golf Course to secure his spot in the 2024 PGA Professional Championship, April 28-May 1 at Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, Frisco, Texas. 

Sharp finished at 12-under par 132 on rounds of 64-68 to edge runner-up Matt Baird by two shots. Baird and Aaron Purviance, who finished in third place at 9-under par, shot the low scores of the final round with (-7) 65s. 

Rounding out the top five, who also qualified for the national PGA Professional Championship, were Baird, Purviance, Zach Johnson (-8) and Thomas Cook (-6).

Those finishing at 5-under 139, Casey Fowles, Mike Jurca and Chris Moody, entered a playoff for the two qualifying spots with Fowles and Jurca making it through. 

Alternate qualifiers include Moody, Jordan Gibbs (-4), Derek Butts (-3) and Bruce Summerhays (-3). 

For Sharp the win “saved my season” and checked off his season goal of returning to the national championship. 

“It’s my whole year,” Sharp said. “I think this is my ninth time, I’ve been to a bunch of them. All of my practice and training is to be able to qualify. I make my plans all winter for this. I want to play in the PGA Championship one more time. That’s my goal.”

Steve Schneiter, who is exempt into the PGA Professional Championship as a former champion, captured the Senior Division win at Toana Vista with a 8-under 136 performance. Two strokes back was Henry White, who won the Super Senior Division. The top five also included Joe Summerhays (-3), Dustin Volk (-3) and Mark Owen (-1). Owen previously won the Utah PGA Senior Match Play and Utah PGA Senior Championship to qualify for the Senior PGA Championship. 

Robert Rudd carded a (+2) 70-76 -146 to win the Legend Division by two strokes over Roy Christensen. With a (+3) 75-72 – 147 Sue Nyhus claimed the Women’s Division title. 

Once again Wendover Resorts and Toana Vista Golf Course provided championship-level hospitality for the event.

Click here to see the complete leaderboard for all divisions. 

For more information on the 2024 PGA Professional Championship, Click Here

Utah PGA Professional Championship recap story and photos provided by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson. 

As the summer season starts to give way to cooler morning temperatures and fall colors, Hobble Creek Golf Course was the host of the annual Utah Senior PGA Championship, Sept 5-6. 

While crowning a champion, the event also served as a qualifying tournament for the national Senior PGA Professional Championship to be held later this fall.

As we change from summer to fall some things remain the same this season as Mountain View Head Professional Mark Owen claimed another Senior title this year. With a (-3) 139 on rounds of 69-70, Owen took home the champion’s trophy and first place check of $1,500. 

First round leader Dave DeSantis was next at even par 142 for the tournament with Steve Schneiter, Doug Roberts and Joe Summerhays finishing tied for third place at (+1) 143. 

“It’s always fun to win,” Owen said while acknowledging he wasn’t happy with his putting and that 49-year old Todd Tanner, who isn’t age eligible for the championship but will be in time for the national championship, shot a lower score of (-5) 137. 

With birdies on three of the four par 5s Owen said, “The par fives are gettable here at Hobble Creek and I played them well. But believe it or not my putting stinks, I think I had five three putts today.”

Owen, the current Utah PGA Senior Match Play champion, made nine pars and five birdies versus four bogeys in the final round, including bogeys on the first and last holes.

“But, I changed my game plan and just started making pars. I was just a little off today but the golf course is really tricky and anything under par was really good.” 

Qualifying for this year’s national Senior PGA Professional Championship were Todd Tanner (-5) 137, Dustin Volk (-3) 139, Owen, DeSantis and Summerhays, who defeated Doug Roberts in a playoff for the last qualifying spot. 

Schneiter has an exemption for the national championship as a past champion, winning in 2016.  

Both Tanner and Volk will turn 50 in the next two weeks making them age eligible for the the national Senior PGA Professional Championship presented by Cadillac, contested October 26-29 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. 

The national event is “a springboard for more to come if you play well,” said Owen. “I’m not exactly sure what the number of spots are that go to the Senior PGA Championship, I think it’s 20 to 25 spots. So that’s the goal, to go and try to get into a major event.”

Final leaderboard: https://tinyurl.com/5ktfv7u7

Spencer Wallace, a teaching professional at the Tee Box golf training facility in St. George, shot (-5) 70-67 – 137 to win the National Car Rental Utah Assistant PGA Championship at Hobble Creek GC, Sept. 5-6.

It was his first time playing in the championship as Wallace is a Level 1 PGA Associate. Wallace was four-shots clear of runner-up Evan Wartgow, an Assistant PGA Professional at Park Meadows Country Club.

Jaydn Wayment (The Barn), Braden Price (Toana Vista), Tyler Dalton (Southgate) and Wallace held the opening round lead at (-1) 70. It was Wallace making the biggest move on the final round with a (-4) 67 at the Springville City course. 

Rounding out the top 5 were defending champion Braydon Swapp (The Barn), tied for third at even par and Aaron Purviance (Red Ledges), finishing fifth with a (+1) 143. 

Hitting a “ton” of fairways, Wallace said, “I drove it really well which put me in a lot of really good positions (off the tee). I hit my irons really well as well, so I took a lot of pressure off myself. So it was fun.”

Wallace’s last win came at the Valley View Open in 2019. “I’ve been playing really well lately, putting some good rounds together, so this means a lot and I’m excited about what’s to come.”

Qualifying for the national Assistant PGA Championship from the tournament were Assistant PGA Professionals Wartgow, Purviance and Dalton who got by Alex Bennington (Red Ledges) in a playoff for the remaining qualifying spot.

Qualifying as alternates were Bennington, Paul Phillips (Stonebridge) and Haley Sturgeon (The Country Club).

Sturgeon, expecting her first child in December, shot (+6) 73-75 -148 to earn the top spot in the Assistant Women’s division that also included Sirene Blair (PGA of America) and Nyomy Obcemea (Ogden Golf & Country Club).  

Final Leaderboard: https://tinyurl.com/bd99n6x5

Story and photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson

The PGA Junior League post season is upon us. Eight teams from Utah qualified to compete next week in Twin Falls, Idaho at the Region Championship. The teams had the chance to qualify through two different routes. The Utah PGA Junior League Section Championship, or Play Day Leaderboard ranking.

Read more about the Utah PGA Junior teams heading to Idaho and how they qualified in the current JUNIOR Fairways digital issue in a feature story written by Annie Fisher. Click Here.

Hundreds of PGA Jr League All-Star Teams are set to compete in 12 National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Regional Championships in September. Read more from PGA.com. Click Here.