For two days in mid-October, the Utah Section PGA Women’s Match Play was staged in likely the most pleasant conditions of any golf tournament in the state this season, as crisp mornings turned into ideal autumn afternoons.
Haley Sturgeon was not interested in lingering in that setting, though. She exited Alpine Country Club as early as possible each day, producing an even more dominant performance than last year. Sturgeon, due to deliver a child in December, needed only 42 total holes to win her three matches as the defending champion and No.1 seed: 6 and 4 over Aspyn Jones (Alpine Country Club), 4 and 3 over Darci Dehlin-Olsen (Glenmoor Golf Club) and 6 and 5 over Emily Jones, her colleague at The Country Club in Salt Lake City.
Sturgeon went 44 holes in match play in 2022, when she earned her first title in three years. She now has won the Match Play title three times in six years.
The eight contestants played a nine-hole seeding round in advance of the quarterfinals, with Sturgeon opting out of the round as the defending champion. Jones shot even-par to earn the No. 2 seed. Utah newcomer Melissa Hatten, an LPGA national award winner this year as the head professional of Talisker at Tuhaye Golf Club, defeated Sue Nyhus to become the other semifinalist.
Sturgeon’s play during the semifinal and championship matches produced only one bogey for the day accomplishing her game plan of “hitting fairways and greens” and not “pressing anything.”
Of the championship match Sturgeon said, “We said no matter what’s happening we were going to stick to our game plan and just let her (Jones) do her thing and I was going to do my thing. It just ended up working out.” Sturgeon’s father Mark, a major influence in her competitive nature, was on the bag once again.
For Jones, who made five birdies in her semifinal win over Hatten, the lunch break prior to the championship match may have proved too much of a cooling off period.
“I just saw the target,” she said of her semifinal match. “I was hitting everything I wanted. I think this afternoon (championship match), it’s just a different type of pressure. I just have to learn how to play under that pressure.”
It was going to take birdies to beat Sturgeon and pressing a little led to Jones getting behind quickly, going three down in the first four holes.
“I’m grateful I could be in the finals and it was such a fun week,” Jones said.
Jones had BYU women’s golf coach Carrie Roberts as her caddie for the tournament and became emotional when asked about her influence.
“I know she’s got a lot on her plate. And the fact that she would take two days to come caddy for me means so much. It was so fun to have her here with me. She just knows how to talk to me. What to say, and when to push me. It means the world. So grateful for her friendship and the ongoing relationship we have together. I’m so grateful for it. We talk all the time, she’s my go to, so it’s awesome.”
Jones played for BYU in 2009-2011 and was Roberts assistant from 2015 to 2017.
The win wrapped up Sturgeon’s 5th consecutive Utah PGA Rolex Player of the Year award. Jones is right behind her in player points heading into the championship and both players knew what was on the line.
Jones said, “I’m glad that I tried to play more tournaments this year than I have in the past. That tournament experience is so fun, and that’s what I need to do to be a better player. A lot of it for me is juggling mom life, competition life and teaching life. I’ve loved competing so much that I’ll keep fighting through it. But yeah, it’s just trying to find that balance so overall it was great experience.”
For Sturgeon, her game plan for next season will be to continue with Utah PGA competition. She will play the Pro-Assistant ahead of her delivery date and then will take the winter off with a new-born before looking ahead to next year’s Winter Classic.
“It’s easy to say now, you know, things could change, but I’ve talked with my dad and my mom and my in-laws and they’re so supportive and my dad is just, you know, so supportive. I still want to be involved in golf and just not get caught up in being a mom and you know, involve him (the baby) and show him, maybe that it’s okay to keep working and have a good work ethic in all things. So I’ll take, you know about six weeks off is what they recommend. That’ll put me about middle of January, and then I’ll have about a month to get ready for the Winter Classic down in St. George. That’s the game plan.”
Many thanks to championship host Alpine Country Club and the support from PGA Professional Brock Padilla and General Manager Neal Maurer.
2023 Women’s Match Play Championship recap written by Fairways Media Publisher Randy Dodson with contributions from Fairways Senior Writer, Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media. Editor’s note: The Utah PGA Rolex Men’s and Senior Player of the Year awards have not been finalized as of this story.