Nearly 150 people from 24 states bridged the generation gap at the inaugural PGA Family Golf Championship Dec. 9-10 at the La Quinta Resort & Golf Club.
The field consisted of 60-plus families. Teams comprised of some combination of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, and grandparents enjoyed the ideal weather and picturesque views of the Pete Dye Mountain and Dunes courses.
Utah PGA Member Dave DeSantis (Golf Galaxy), his wife Holly and grandson Gordie Gatrell (middle three in top photo) won the PGA Professional Division at even par on the Pete Dye Mountain and Dunes courses.
Each team consisted of at least one adult and one junior. A modified alternate shot format required an adult and junior each to hit a tee shot. The pair selected the best of the two and from there played alternate shots until the ball was holed.
For participating, each player received adidas pullovers and hats, and each team received a photo in a PGA Family Golf Championship frame. They also were treated to a pizza and pasta party after the first day of competition with a taco truck and ice cream provided at the conclusion of the competition.
Also competing in the championship were Utah PGA’s Darci Olsen (Glenmoor GC), husband Joey and daughter Randli.
PGA Family Golf launched nationally in 2022. It was inspired by the innovative and welcoming team-based format of the PGA of America’s successful PGA Jr. League program. PGA Family Golf brings family members of all ages and skill levels together on multi-generational teams, each comprising 2-4 players, with a minimum of one adult and one junior. Local programs are hosted exclusively by PGA and LPGA Professionals.
For more information on the 2024 PGA Family Golf Championship, click here.
Congratulations to the 2023 Utah PGA Rolex Players of the Year. It has been another fantastic season of championship golf and we applaud your efforts and excellent accomplishments throughout the year.
CASEY FOWLES-UTAH PGA ROLEX PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Casey Fowles, Sunset View Golf Course
Casey Fowles occasionally checked the standings, although he never put any pressure on himself to win a third straight Rolex Player of the Year award in the Utah Section PGA.
He just kept playing good golf, and the results again went his way in what evolved into a healthy, three-way competition in 2023. Fowles finished with 5,752.5 points to 5,327.5 for Zach Johnson and 5,189.67 for Tommy Sharp.
The latest title “means a lot,” Fowles said, “because those guys have been good for a long time.”
They would say the same about Fowles, the Head PGA Professional at Sunset View Golf Course in his hometown of Delta. At age 39, the former UNLV golfer (who started his college career at the University of Utah) was proud to finish 2023 strong, amid the usual ups and downs of a golf season.
After winning The Oaks Open in May, Fowles tied for first (with Johnson) in the Mountainland Valley View Open in August. He then finished second among Section pros in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open (70-68-69) and tied for first in the Willow Creek Open, posting a 70.
“Valley View’s treated me really well over the years,” Fowles said. “Willow Creek was a big one too. Willow Creek was set up really good and tough. That was one of my best rounds all year.”
As a head pro trying to maintain an elite-level golf game, “It’s tough to balance everything,” Fowles said. A supportive family helps make it possible; so does his ability to focus on what he’s doing at the moment.
MARK OWEN-UTAH PGA ROLEX SENIOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mark Owen, Mountain View Golf Course
Mark Owen is not being greedy when he mentions the biggest tournament title that got away from him in 2023. At this point, as a three-time winner of the Rolex Senior Player of the Year award in the Utah Section PGA, he’s allowed to have high standards of performance.
So he’ll keep thinking about the final round of the Mel Duke Utah Senior Open at Toana Vista GC, where Joe Summerhays stormed ahead of him with a closing 66 to top Owen’s 72 after they were tied for the lead.
Otherwise, Owen was the one dusting the competition throughout the season. He finished with 7,741.83 points to 5,450 for runner-up Steve Schneiter, during a year when his game “all kind of came together,” Owen said.
Owen, the Head PGA Professional of Mountain View GC, tied for first place in The Oaks Open. He won the Senior Match Play Championship in a great duel with Scott Brandt at Willow Creek Country Club, took the Senior Section Championship by posting 69-70 at Hobble Creek GC and was the low senior in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open at Riverside CC (71-71-73).
”It’s always fun to win the big ones,” Owen said. “That’s kind of what I shoot for, mostly.”
And that’s why Owen appreciates the Section staff and host pros who stage such high-level events, keeping him motivated to maintain a sharp game. He also has figured out how to do that, while being devoted to his job in Salt Lake County Golf, while being thankful for his two assistant pros, including Dustin Pimm, the Section’s Assistant Professional of the Year.
HALEY STURGEON-UTAH PGA ROLEX WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Haley Sturgeon, The Country Club
For once, Haley Sturgeon had some competition in the race for the Rolex Women’s Player of the Year award in the Utah Section PGA. She also had some accompaniment.
In the Sturgeon family, 2023 will be remembered as the year when Haley played some great golf as a twosome. Her expected delivery of a child in December created an interesting dynamic, while she won a fifth straight season title.
Emily Jones, her colleague at The Country Club in Salt Lake City, made a strong challenge to Sturgeon’s reign. Do the math: The duel came down to the final match of the Women’s Match Play at Alpine Country Club in mid-October. If not for Sturgeon’s 6-and-5 victory, Jones would have become the Player of the Year. Sturgeon finished with 4,375 points to 4,162.5 for Jones.
Playing so well during her pregnancy was “very special,” Sturgeon said. “It was a constant reminder that no matter what happens in your golf game, just let it go because bigger things are ahead.”
Sturgeon was happy to stay healthy enough to play regularly in tournaments and she was at her best in the Women’s Match Play, dominating all three opponents.
”Playing good golf while being almost eight months pregnant was incredible,” she said, “and I will keep that feeling with me when I play while I’m not pregnant.”
Sturgeon also finished first in the Brigham City Open, the Mountainland Valley View Open, the Willow Creek Open and the Intro-Lend Davis Park Open.
BRAYDON SWAPP-UTAH PGA ROLEX ASSISTANT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Braydon Swapp, The Barn Golf Course
Braydon Swapp may wish he could have saved his best round of the year for Sunday in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open in August, instead of using it to finish the EMT/EZGO Winter Classic in February.
Even so, both experiences created some good memories of a season when Swapp repeated as the Rolex Assistant Player of the Year in the Utah Section PGA.
He’s proud of that closing 67 amid tough conditions at Copper Rock Golf Course in the Winter Classic and he loved having Keaton Woodland as his caddie while contending in the Utah Open. Swapp earned 1,200 points for finishing as low Section member at Riverside Country Club, shooting 67-69-69. He finished with 4,396.5 points to 3,156.67 for runner-up Aaron Purviance.
In addition to the Winter Classic, Swapp finished first in the Southern Utah Open in November 2022, launching his Player of the Year run. He tied for second in The Oaks Open and tied for third in the Utah Section PGA Assistant Championship at Hobble Creek GC.
In the Utah Open, “I couldn’t get the putter hot enough the last day,” Swapp said, “but it’s always exciting to be in contention in one of the biggest tournaments we play all year as Section pros.”
As he pursues a playing career while working as an assistant pro at The Barn GC, Swapp appreciates the support of his family and friends. And the opportunity to play in tournaments amid his work schedule is “something I don’t take for granted,” he said. “I’m grateful to be able to play the game I love and compete against other high-level players in the Section.”
2023 Utah PGA Rolex Player of the Year profiles written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media.
The PGA of America released the statement below today regarding the USGA and R&A’s decision to revise golf ball testing conditions:
We appreciate that the USGA and R&A ran a collaborative and patient process over the past several years. We are particularly gratified that they heard our concerns regarding the significant operational challenges bifurcation would have presented and are no longer considering a local rule regarding the ball for elite players. We are also pleased that the proposed change to the ball has been delayed until 2028 for elite players and 2030 for recreational golfers. Given the important role our nearly 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals play in the recreational game, having more time to adjust to the new rule is helpful.
We remain opposed to any change that may potentially lessen the enjoyment of the game for recreational golfers or diminish the unprecedented momentum the game is enjoying. It appears recreational golfers will see a greater reduction in distance than we would advise. While this decrease has been lessened, we continue to recommend being more moderate on the swing speed change for the golf ball conformance test.
At this time, we continue to have concerns and look forward to continuing this important conversation and finding resolution with all of our golf industry partners.
We value our relationship with the USGA and R&A and respect their role as administrators of the Rules of Golf and the equipment standards of the game. We will continue to share our feedback on this, and any topic that affects our PGA of America Golf Professionals and the countless number of golfers they coach and welcome into the game each year.
