Remarkably, 64 was the worst score that then-BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn posted in winning the 2017 Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.
Seven years later, Fishburn is back at Riverside Country Country Club as a PGA Tour player, and a second-round 64 was good enough to get him into the lead.
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Two questions remain in play after a Saturday of multiple weather-related stops and starts in Provo: What will it take to win this tournament? And when will it end?
Obviously, nobody’s going to touch Fishburn’s record 26-under-par total of 2017. Something better than Zac Blair’s (and playoff contestant Javier Barcos’) 15-under score of last August almost certainly will be required, though.
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Fishburn is 11 under through 36 holes after his bogey-free round Saturday. He’s one stroke ahead of BYU’s Cole Ponich (67-67), who’s bidding to become the first golfer since Ed Kingsley in 1934 to win the Utah State Am and the Utah Open in the same year, and first-round leader Gavin Cohen (65-69) of Phoenix. California pro Josh Anderson is 9 under through 13 holes.
As for the timing of what promises to be a great finish, Sunday’s forecast is more promising than Saturday’s results, but the potential exists for more delays.
Saturday’s play was halted due to darkness.The round will resumed at 7 a.m. Sunday, then the 36-hole cut (to 60 players, plus ties) will be made and the final round will begin at 9:30.
Blair (70-66), who’s in contention at 8 under, was aware that earning last summer’s title would put him in an exclusive club of winners of both the Utah Open and the State Amateur. The only names he knew for sure, though? His father, Jimmy, and Fishburn, who followed him at Fremont High School and BYU.
Fishburn is trying to follow Blair’s example of winning the Utah Open as a PGA Tour player, having missed the FedExCup Playoffs. He’s in great position to keep his tour card for 2025, though, going into the fall portion of the schedule that starts in mid-September.
Fishburn made four birdies on each nine Saturday in what almost qualified as a classic Riverside round for an elite player, except that he parred the par-5 No. 5.
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Blair’s six birdies included all four par-5s, but he made one bogey. BYU’s Zac Jones, himself a former State Am champion, birdied four of the last six holes to post a 67 and match Blair’s 8-under total.
As for the families in the field, playing together in the first rounds ultimately worked out well for the Ogden brothers and the Moody father-son duo. And the three Shelley brothers, playing separately,Jackson (67-73), Tyson (72-69) and Austin (73-72) all will advance to the final round.
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Clay Ogden (67-70) is in line for another nice check in his annual tournament appearance, while amateur Cole Ogden (73-70) tied his brother Saturday and comfortably made the cut. PGA Head Professional Chris Moody of Riverside (75-69) rallied in the second round, although he couldn’t keep up with son Noah (74-67), a recent Timpanogos High School graduate.
Cooper Jones (67-72) joined his brother Zac in advancing to Sunday. PGA Tour veteran Jay Don Blake (69-72) also will play the final round.
The low Utah Section PGA contestant is Braydon Swapp (67-69), who finished first in that category in 2023. Todd Tanner (70-70) tops the Senior Sidebar competition.
Utah Open Day 2 recap written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos provided by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.