Monthly Archives: May 2025

Cristie Kerr briefly held the lead in the final round last May at Copper Rock Golf Course, only to have Angela Stanford overtake her. 

The sequel was another story, in the 2025 LPGA Legends Championship. Kerr led all the way Saturday, taking a two-stroke win over Moira Dunn-Bohls.

“It feels awesome,” said the 47-year-old Kerr. “Yeah, I was on a mission this week.”

Kerr posted 69-71-70 for a 6-under-par total, holding off Dunn-Bohls, who closed with a 68, and Maria McBride, whose 67 gave her third place for the second year in a row in Hurricane. Stanford, the tournament’s two-time defending champion, tied for 11th. 

Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Sue Nyhus tied for 39th, finishing in the middle of the starting field of 78. Nyhus’ even-par 72 was topped by only nine players Saturday, while she competed in her early 60s via a Utah Section PGA sponsor exemption in an event for golfers 45 and older. 

Kerr was a fitting winner on the unofficial ending of Women in Golf Month, as declared by Washington County. She played in the inaugural LPGA Black Desert Championship in early May as part of her preparation for a return to Copper Rock. In between, the Epson Tour made its annual visit to Hurricane, following a stop in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Kerr made a hometown appearance and tied for 10th place. 

“I said that if I wanted to have a chance here … I needed to get some reps,” Kerr said. “I made myself do it.”

The strategy worked, as Kerr collected a $60,000 check on the 60th birthday of her husband, Erik Stevens. 

So as the LPGA Legends Championship moves to Indiana in 2026 and Pennsylvania in ‘27, Copper Rock administrators can savor the achievement of staging women’s pro golf doubleheaders in consecutive years. They also get to claim a 20-time LPGA Tour winner (including two major titles) as their most recent champion.

“It means the absolute world to me that I can still get it done,” said Kerr, whose most recent title came in a 2017 LPGA Tour event in Malaysia.   

Kerr parred the last seven holes to stay in front Saturday, after bogeying No. 10 and birdieing No. 11. The back-nine challenge involved “having a hard time controlling the adrenaline, instead of feeling like I was going to mess up or something,” she said. “So, kind of losing the feel a little bit. But I hung in there.”

So did Nyhus, in her own way. Having opened with 78-80, she made four birdies and four bogeys in the final round and described herself as “relieved” afterward.

Nyhus added, “I knew I could do it. But whether I could bring myself to hit the shots I knew I could hit, in this moment, is where I’m a little in and out.”

She was more “in” than “out” Saturday, although a topped drive, covering only about 100 yards and luckily bouncing across a cart path and desert area to find grass, led to her most spectacular birdie. After a 7-wood shot just short of the green on the par-4 No. 2 (her 11th hole the day), she chipped in for an unlikely “3.” She got to 2 under for the day with a 30-foot birdie putt on the next hole, before making two late bogeys.

Nyhus expects her showing to give more LPGA Legends opportunities.

Representing the Utah Golf Association as the only amateur in the field, Arizona resident Robin Krapfl (77-81-82) tied for 59th place. Krapfl won the Utah Senior Women’s State Amateur in September to earn the UGA exemption.

2025 LPGA Legends Championship final leaderboard.

2025 LPGA Legends Championship at Copper Rock final round recap written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.

The four practically perfect shots that Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Sue Nyhus delivered to start the LPGA Legends Championship at Copper Rock were only a few of her favorite memories from playing the par-5 opening hole. 

She’ll remember her caddie, former BYU golf contemporary Dave DeSantis, telling her on the tee, “You belong.”

She’ll appreciate Devin Dehlin, Executive Director of the Utah Section PGA, following through on the sponsor exemption he helped her receive by running to the first tee to witness her first drive in Hurricane. 

And she’ll think about her husband, Steve, who walked alongside her Thursday, representing a family that has framed her life beyond golf. 

In an adventurous round that added up to a 6-over-par 78, just below average in the 78-player field, Nyhus produced some highlights. She appeared on the leaderboard after five holes, having carded three birdies and a bogey. Nyhus made consecutive double bogeys, yet she was only 3 over par through 15 holes. 

She then produced a 9-2 scoring sequence that almost became an even more improbable 9-1, thanks to a well-placed 9-iron shot on the par-3 No. 17. Her ball landed on the bank to the right and trickled down, catching a lot of the hole as it sharply spun out. 

The comeback from the desert-driven quadruple bogey on the previous hole typified how Nyhus battled all day, saving par five times on the last 10 holes via scrambling. 

“I was nervous all day,” she said. “I’m exhausted.”

Robin Krapfl, Nyhus’ friend from their college golf coaching tenures, topped her with a more conventional 77, making one birdie and six bogeys. Krapfl is in the field via the Utah Golf Association’s exemption, having won the Senior Women’s State Amateur last September. Krapfl, an Arizona resident, and partner Marci DuBois also were co-champions of the Women’s Spring Open team tournament in St. George in April. 

Nyhus and Krapfl are grouped together for Friday’s second round. 

Charlotta Sorenstam leads the 54-hole, no-cut event with a 66, followed by 2024 runner-up Cristie Kerr, Leta Lindley and Moira Dunn-Bohls at 69. Two-time defending champion Angela Stanford posted a 72. 

The LPGA Legends Championship, booked for Indiana in 2026 and Pennsylvania in ‘27,  returned to Copper Rock Golf Course for a second year. That created an opportunity for Nyhus, with organizers adding the Utah Section PGA exemption in the senior major event for golfers 45 and older.

“I’m playing with my people, even though I’m not at their level,” said Nyhus, 62. “To be among women who are older, who are passionate about the game, means so much to me. It makes me feel I’m not so alone.”

She’s in her own Utah women’s pro golf demographic, in other words. And at this stage of life, she said, “You can’t get higher competition” than the LPGA Legends.

That’s why Nyhus was nervous, even while famously having competed in every United States Golf Association available to her since her teens. Aside from the 9 on the par-5 No. 16, caused by a hooked drive, she certainly justified Dehlin’s advocacy and DeSantis’ belief in her.              

And when she struck a nice drive on the par-5 No. 12, Nyhus good-naturedly announced, “I knew it was in me.”

2025 LPGA Legends Championship opening round leaderboard.

LPGA Legends Championship opening round recap written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.

There’s a different kind of excitement in the air this week at Copper Rock Golf Course in Hurricane, Utah. The kind of buzz that happens when greatness gathers—and for two golfers with Utah ties, it’s also a week to reflect, reconnect, and compete among the game’s legends.

For the second straight year, Copper Rock hosts the LPGA Legends Championship, bringing with it a field rich with major championship history, hall-of-fame credentials, and experience won from decades on tour. This week, Utah fans have a little more to cheer for.

Thanks to exemptions from the Utah PGA and the Utah Golf Association, two standout representatives of the state’s extensive season—Sue Nyhus and Robin Krapfl—are teeing it up alongside the LPGA Legends’ best.

And make no mistake, they’re not here just to rub elbows.

“This on the fun scale is a 9.75” Nyhus laughed during a Pro-Am round Wednesday. “I can’t thank the Utah PGA enough for this opportunity. To be out here with my daughters Kimberly and Katie, my best golfing pal Kari Lawrence, with Utah PGA Pro Dave DeSantis on the bag and my husband tagging along—it’s the best day on the golf course.”

Nyhus, a Utah Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Utah PGA member, and pioneer of women’s competitive golf in the state, has seen just about everything the game can offer. But even she admits, walking the range and rekindling friendships with names like Laura Davies, Trish Johnson, and Laura Diaz stirs something special.

“These women played junior golf, high school golf, college golf, amateur golf together. Then I went to the European Tour and crossed paths with a bunch of them there too. We’re rekindling 40-year-old friendships,” she said. “It’s like the movie A League of Their Own, but for golf.”

For Nyhus, the goal this week isn’t about the leaderboard—though she’s prepared for that, too.

“I just want my light to shine. I’ve been working on my game, and hopefully I can bring it to bear. No expectations, no pressure. I have nothing to prove to anyone.”

Nyhus tees off at 9:22 a.m. Thursday on the first tee with Dana Ebster and Christy Longfield.

Joining her in the field is Robin Krapfl, the reigning Utah Senior Women’s State Amateur Champion, who earned her spot via the UGA exemption. Krapfl’s game and confidence both found new life last season, and this week is the payoff.

“I’ve worked really hard on my game, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished,” said Krapfl. “Winning the Senior State Am last year—it was actually the first match play event I’ve ever won. That gave me a ton of confidence. I’m just thankful to the UGA for this opportunity.”

Her goal for the week?

“Well, sure, I’d love to win but I want to finish in the top 25. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not, but it’d be fun—because top 25 means an invite back next year. But really, I’m just taking it all in. To be on the range next to players like Julie Inkster and Hollis Stacy—it’s beyond exciting.”

Krapfl tees off at 11:12 a.m. Thursday from the 10th tee alongside Barb Moxness and Patricia Beliard.

This year’s LPGA Legends Championship features a 78-player field, with a $400,000 purse with $60,000 to the champion. Defending champion Angela Stanford returns chasing a three-peat after her 10-under performance last year edged out Cristie Kerr by three shots.

Eight LPGA major champions headline the field, including Stanford, Kerr, Brandie Burton, Dame Laura Davies, Pat Hurst, Christa Johnson, Liselotte Neumann, and Hollis Stacy.

But for Utah golf fans, this week is just as much about celebrating another chapter in Utah golf history. Whether it’s a Hall of Famer like Nyhus reconnecting with lifelong friends or a newly confident champion like Krapfl representing Utah’s largest golf association, it’s clear that the LPGA Legends Championship is more than just a tournament. It’s a reminder that Utah’s fairways have produced—and continue to inspire—golfers whose stories are every bit as compelling as those found in the LGPA history books.

2025 LPGA Legends Championship opening round tee times and pairings.

2025 LPGA Legends Championship advance story and photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson

The way Patrick Fishburn sees it, not making the cut at the PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic last week was a blessing in disguise, even if it was his third-straight missed cut in as many weeks.

Shortly after shooting 73-74 at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in South Carolina to miss the cut by a bunch, Fishburn packed his bags, jumped into a car with his caddy, Alex “Big Al” Riddell, and made the three-hour drive to Charlotte, North Carolina, for this week’s 107th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club.

Fishburn, the former Fremont High and BYU golf star from Ogden, is playing in his first major golf championship, beginning Thursday at a course he was unfamiliar with until getting in a practice round Sunday when he could have still been playing back in Myrtle Beach if he had made the cut there.

“It’s not a golf course that you would want to play blindly,” he said, noting that it was so rainy Monday that he couldn’t get out on the course.

In his second season on the PGA Tour, Fishburn is 71st on the PGA Championship Points List, but only the top 70 players are guaranteed spots in the second major of the season. However, he got in when Billy Horschel had to withdraw after having hip surgery.

“Obviously, you grow up in golf dreaming of playing in the majors, so this is a dream come true,” Fishburn said.

Fishburn, 32, is one of two Utahns in the 156-player field, joining former Salt Lake City resident Tony Finau, who will be playing in his 36th major and 11th PGA Championship. Fishburn and Finau, 35, played a practice round together on Tuesday.

Fishburn tees off on No. 10 Thursday at 5:16 a.m. MDT with Andre Chi and Seamus Power.

Finau, who tied for 18th in last year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky, tees off on No. 10 Thursday at 6:33 a.m. MDT with Nicolai Hojgaard and Max Greyserman.

“I am so excited to play,” Fishburn told the Deseret News on Tuesday. “I think this golf course sets up well for me. It lends itself to some of the strengths I have and allows me to play the way I like to play.”

Obviously, the 6-foot-4 Fishburn, who grew up on a horse farm outside of Ogden and was a high school basketball star at Fremont High before serving a two-year church mission in Nashville, Tennessee, loves the monstrous 7,626-yard layout at Quail Hollow because he’s one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour.

“It is an unbelievable venue, probably the biggest property I have played a tournament on. It is massive,” he said. “I have heard multiple people say this is the closest thing to Augusta National that they have played. I believe them, from what I have seen. It is a really impressive place.”

Fishburn won the Utah State Amateur in 2016 and the Utah Open in 2017 before turning pro in 2018. He earned his PGA Tour card prior to the 2023-24 season and is currently 107th in the FedEx Cup standings and 114th in the Official World Golf Rankings.

He’s had two top-10 finishes in the 14 events he’s played in 2025, tying for sixth at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and tying for fifth at the Valero Texas Open a month ago. Just making the cut at par-71 Quail Hollow would be a big accomplishment, but he’s not focusing on any particular results this week.

“I am more caught up in the process of things than the results. I just know that if I do certain things with each shot, I have a good feeling it will lead to something good,” he said.

Fishburn said he’s had some issues with his putting the past few weeks, but believes he figured out the problem on the practice green the other day: a putter that has the wrong loft and the wrong lie angle.

“So that was kind of a big thing to discover,” he said. “Some little tweaks I have made around the greens, just chipping and putting and just scoring the ball the last two days have really helped.

“So I think I have the game to be in the hunt. You never really think of winning or what place you are going to take,” he continued. “I just know if I play the way I am capable of playing, it will be good enough to be involved on Sunday, even though I have no experience playing in majors and I have no idea what to expect.”

To make up for his inexperience in majors, Fishburn has leaned on his three best friends in golf: Finau, Zurich Classic teammate Zac Blair and veteran PGA Tour player Daniel Summerhays, who, like, Fishburn and Blair, also played for BYU.

Summerhays is rehabbing this season and will be in Charlotte this weekend to provide more advice and mentoring. He placed third in the 2016 PGA Championship.

“I lean a lot on all those guys. They have been huge mentors for me,” Fishburn said. “Asking questions and getting advice is something I have done for a lot of years. I haven’t been afraid to learn from really everyone. There is so much to learn in golf and I try to pay attention to how guys are approaching shots and puling them off. Those guys have always been extremely good to me in providing information and being mentors for me. I am lucky to have those three guys to look up to.”

Along with Summerhays, Fishburn will have his parents — Steve and Peggy — and some old high school friends cheering him on in North Carolina, as well as his agent, Rob Despain, and former Ogden Golf & Country Club pro Craig Sarlo.

His wife of eight years, Madison, won’t be able to make the trip because she is eight months pregnant with the couple’s third child.

“What a proud moment for Utah and the Fishburn family,” Despain said on his Fishin’ for Birdies podcast recently. “It is definitely a milestone in Patrick’s career.”

2025 PGA Championship feature written by Desert News Sports’ Jay Drew. Photos by Fairways Media unless otherwise credited.

The U.S. Senior Open Local Qualifier was held on Wednesday at Thanksgiving Point Golf Club, and two members of the Utah PGA advanced to the Final Qualifying, and are now just one step away from playing in a major. Ryan Kartchner (Reef Captial/Black Desert Resort) and Mark Owen (Mountain View GC) both shot 2-over par 74 to claim two of nine spots available. And both are excited about getting there.

This is the second time Kartchner, 52, has tried to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open. Last year, he went to Newport, CA to try to qualify. 

“I got there the day before and played 9-holes in a practice round,” he said. “The next day in the tournament, I played those 9-holes in 1-under par. But I played the other 9-holes in 7-over.”

This year, Kartchner has been playing more, and felt like his game was in a good enough place to make it through the Local Qualifying.

“My new job has allowed me to practice and play more. I’ve been hitting my driver well, and I thought if I could just hit fairways and greens today, I would have a chance.”

That chance almost slipped away on hole 12, when he hit a 3-wood off the tee and it found the water, leading to a double bogey. He hit a hybrid off the next tee, found the right side hazard and ended up with a triple bogey. But he bounced back with birdies on the next two holes and parred out to punch his ticket to the next round.

For the 56 year old Owen, the Local Qualifier almost didn’t happen. 

“I was thinking about withdrawing,” he said. “My back has been giving me fits. I got out of work later than I wanted and traffic was a mess. My tee time was 9:30, and I got there at 9:15. The two guys I was supposed to play with both withdrew, so I was a single. I thought about leaving, but they said they would get me a marker and I could catch up to the next group, so I decided to play 9-holes and see how I felt.”

He felt well enough to shoot 1-under on the front nine, with eight pars and one birdie.

“We played the front nine in less than two hours, then it took us another hour just to play 10 and 11. I got frustrated and bogeyed 12 and 13, but birdied the par 5 14th.”

He was one over for his round with an 8-inch putt for par on 18. He missed it, and thought that 2-over was not going to get him in.

“They told me to hang around because I might be in a playoff. We were getting ready to head to the first playoff hole when a guy in the last group 5-putted 18, and suddenly all of us at 2-over were in.”

Now Owen and Kartchner are one good round away from reaching a goal that both of them have – playing in a major.

“I’ve never played in a Tour event,” said Ryan. “It would be a great reward to all the hard work I’ve put in lately. I feel like if I hit it at the Final Qualifying like I did today, I’ll get in.”

“That’s the one thing I have yet to accomplish in my career,” said Owen. “Making it to the U.S Senior Open and playing in a major is something to look forward to.”

The United States Senior Open Championship will be contested at The Broadmoor (East Course) in Colorado Springs, Colo. June 26-29, 2025. Final Qualifying will take place between May 19-June 2, 2025. 

Good luck, fellas!

Feature written by ABC 4 Sports Anchor, Wesley Ruff. Click here for final results.