Monthly Archives: December 2024

Senior competition in the Utah Section PGA is going to be phenomenal in the next several years, with a bunch of big-name players turning 50 at almost the same time. The likes of Dustin Volk, Matt Baird, Chris Moody and Todd Tanner will make it difficult for anyone to dominate the class, as Mark Owen did in the previous three years. 

Tanner took his first shot in 2024 and succeeded in a big way. As the winner of the Bob Rudd Utah Senior Open and the Senior Sidebar in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open, he posted 7,513.5 points to Volk’s 6,655 to earn the Section’s Senior Player of the Year award. 

Now 51, Tanner is “looking forward to many more years, trying for this award,” he said. 

His consistency will make him tough to beat, judging by his scores in the Utah Senior Open (66-67) at Toana Vista GC and the Utah Open (70-70-71) at Riverside CC. Tanner also won the Palisade and Brigham City Opens and tied for first in the Gladstan Open. 

Tanner credits “a great support system” that includes his business partnership with Stacey Jones in operating InMotion Junior Golf and directing the Salt Lake City Local Tour of U.S. Kids. Having qualified for the PGA Professional Championship in Florida in April, he’s happy about the chance to “compete with the young guys,” as he tries to remain at the top of his own age group in Utah. 

Feature written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photo Credit: Fairways Media/Garrit Johnson.

The Utah Section PGA’s Rolex Assistant Player of the Year award is subject to dynasties. Braydon Swapp’s third consecutive title marks the fifth time that has happened in the past 25 years, following the long reigns of Mark Owen, Chris Moody (twice) and Zach Johnson. 

The others moved on to become head professionals. That might be in Swapp’s future, although for now he’s focused on his continued improvement as a player. 

Swapp’s late-season surge earned him another Assistant Player of the Year award, while appreciating his wife Hannah’s support and the working environment at The Barn Golf Course in Ogden. He finished with 3,396.25 points to 2,941.5 for Thomas Cook, who won the Section’s Assistant Championship and tied for 40th place in the national tournament. 

“The Section has been growing a lot with more assistants joining the program in the three years that I have been part of it,” Swapp said. “The competition has gotten tougher and the fields deeper.”

Swapp’s run included a four-way tie for first place in the Valley View Open with a 68-70 showing, a tie for second among Section members in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open ( 67-69-70) and a career-best tournament round of 62 to win the Davis Park Open. 

“I had been wanting a win all year, and finally getting it proved my work has paid off,” Swapp said, citing swing changes.  

Swapp was inside the cutline through three rounds of a first-stage qualifying event for the PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour. “The last round didn’t go how I wanted,” he said, “but I learned so much being in that position and I know I have the game to compete at the next level.”

Feature written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photo Credit: Fairways Media/Garrit Johnson.