Author: Jesse Dodson
With Utah Open, Utah Women’s Open and the Promontory Major exemptions up for grabs this season, competition in the 2018 Utah PGA Junior Series Major season has heated up. Valley View and Davis Park golf courses provided the venues on July 11-12 for some of the lowest and closest scores The Majors have seen yet.
The top-three finishers in the Boys 15-16 division were a total seven-under par for the two-day major, mainly due to Jackson Holman who shot a pair of 69s to claim victory at five-under. Not only did Holman claim his division but also was the low individual throughout the Major. With 11-total birdies and a win, Holman jumped to the lead of the Boys Majors Points List and will be tough to beat for the two available exemptions into the 2018 Utah Open for the two older divisions.
Lexi Hamel, Southern Utah University Women’s Golf commit and multiple-time Major winner took another victory with a final-round, two-under 69. After the first round at Valley View GC, Hamel and Alexis Wilson were tied at 76 but a bogey-free second nine at Davis Park for Hamel proved to be the winning difference, despite Wilson’s eagle on their 17th hole.
It’s not too often that two first-place trophies go to the same home, but for Savannah and Victoria Romney, this may not be the last time. Savannah took home the win in the Girls 15-16 division after being three-strokes back after round one. With a final round 72, she secured a two-stroke win. Victoria, in the 13-14 division, had a comfortable first-round lead with an 84 and maintained that lead with a final-round 82.
“Winning the Major today felt great,” Victoria said. “It came down to the last several holes of the tournament, which made winning even better. My sister and I were extremely happy to win this tournament alongside each other, it really meant a lot for our family!”
Competition was the tightest in the Boys 17-18 division with only a three-stroke difference between first and fifth place. John Fox was tied for first after round one and jumped ahead with a one-under 70 to take the win and secure a spot in the Promontory Major Championship. However, Jaden Milne gave quite a charge with a final-round 67, the low-score of the tournament and a 10-stroke difference from his 77 at Valley View.
One more Major remains before the Promontory PGA Junior Major Championship at the end of July. The Meadow Brook/Glenmoor PGA Junior Major will be played July 16-17 and will provide one more chance to qualify for Promontory and the Utah Open and Utah Women’s Open exemptions.
These Majors wouldn’t be possible without the help from our local Utah Section PGA professionals. We owe a big thank you to Dustin Volk and Pete Stone of Valley View GC and Brad Stone, Zach Johnson and Taylor Laybourne of Davis Park GC.