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.