With a birdie on any of the final three holes last August, Phoenix pro Gavin Cohen could have joined the epic playoff that PGA Tour veteran Zac Blair eventually won in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.
Cohen left Riverside Country Club with a tie for third place and good feelings. “I’ve been looking forward to coming back ever since,” he said Friday, after taking the first-round lead in the 54-hole event with a 7-under-par 65 in Provo. “Riverside is such a beautiful venue … and it fits my eye.”
California pro Josh Anderson posted a bogey-free 66, while the group at 67 was big and diverse: Braydon Swapp, the Utah Section PGA’s two-time Assistant Player of the Year; State Amateur champion Cole Ponich of BYU; Skyline High School senior Jackson Shelley, one of three brothers who are inside the cut line; Peter Kim, a Skyline graduate who plays for BYU; State Amateur runner-up Cooper Jones, who will interrupt his BYU career for a church mission to Peru in September; and two-time champion Clay Ogden, who seemingly just shows up in this tournament every August and plays well.
Among other notable players, former BYU golfers Carson Lundell and Rhett Rasmussen each posted a 68 after tying for third last year. PGA Tour rookie Patrick Fishburn, another ex-Cougar and CBS Sports broadcaster Tony Romo, now a Utah Open regular, each shot a 69.
So did 65-year-old Jay Don Blake, who made four straight birdies (Nos. 13-16) as he tunes up for his 500th career PGA Tour start in the Black Desert Championship in October. Blair made 16 pars and two birdies for a 70.
Cohen began his morning round on the back nine with what he labeled “a dream start” with five birdies in six holes. He bogeyed Nos. 17 and 18, but then made four birdies on the front nine.
“I honestly just felt super comfortable out there,” he said, “and felt like I had a nice couple of weeks of prep going into the event. I’ve been working on some mechanical stuff, especially with my putting so it was nice to see it (work) today.”
Shelley, Ponich and Jones each made eight birdies and three bogeys. Kim’s only bogey came on the par-4 No. 18, concluding his round. Ogden made the only eagle among players high on the leaderboard, with a “3” on No. 13 in the afternoon.
Swapp, who was the low Utah Section PGA contestant last year, leads Camron Saunders by one stroke in that competition within the tournament. Steve Schneiter’s 69 gives him a one-shot edge over Todd Tanner in the Senior Sidebar.
Click here for the 18-hole leaderboard from the Utah Open.
Utah Open opening round recap written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.