All posts by : Utah PGA

The annual 36-hole Utah Junior PGA Championship, played at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway June 15-16, is usually a qualifier to the national Boys Junior PGA Championship and Girls Junior PGA Championship, but with the 2020 event cancelled, the Utah Section PGA adjusted the qualifier to one exemption into the 2020 Utah Open for the Boys 16-18 division and one exemption into the Utah Women’s Open for the Girls 16-18 division.

Simon Kwon took command in the final round with a (-4) 68 round on a morning that saw 30-40 mph wind gusts. His four-under round was the low of the day, four-strokes better than first-round leader Tyson Shelley’s even-par round.

Kwon finished the event (-7) 69-68 for a two-stroke victory over Shelley to earn an exemption into the Utah Open played in August at Riverside Country Club in Provo.

“It’s going to be awesome to be able to play there and compete,” Kwon said of his Utah Open entry. “This will be my first time, it was definitely a goal to qualify for some tournaments like this.

“I just didn’t really put myself in bad spots today,” he said of his final round. “I really didn’t have to worry too much about making a putt for par, I just made sure I was on the green and didn’t leave myself more than a tap-in for par.”

Kwon will be a senior in high school next year and with the majority of national junior events cancelled in 2020, he has his sight set on the Utah Open and Utah State Amateur.

Shelley finished runner up with rounds of (-5) 67-72 and Boston Bracken finished third at (-3) 68-73.

Lila Galea’i shot a (-1) 71 in the first round to take the early lead and she never gave it up with a final-round (-2) 70 – which earned her an exemption into the 2020 Utah Women’s Open at Thanksgiving Point in August.

Her three-under total provided a five-stroke victory over second-place finishers Berlin Long and Sunbin Seo, who both shot matching 75-71 scores of two-over.

“Feels good to get an exemption in the Utah Women’s Open,” Galea’i said. “Soldier Hollow is always a tough course to play but the way I played today I think it was good. I’m excited to have an exemption and to play.”

Galea’i considers Thanksgiving Point her home course and is feeling comfortable going into the Utah Women’s Open.

“It definitely gives me home course advantage playing at Thanksgiving Point. I know the course like the back of my hand. I just need to make sure I play the best that I can and I think I’ll be good.”

In the Girls 13-15 division there was a three-way tie after round one between Aadyn Long, Katelin Bingham and Patiola Uluave, all coming in at 81.

In the final round, it was Long who stole the show with a final round 77, finishing at 14-over for the event and a five-stroke victory.

Bingham finished second while Uluave took third place.

Zak Richins of the Boys 13-15 division held the first-round lead at even par and never looked back, winning the event with a final round (-1) 71, finishing three strokes ahead of Dustin Miller and Gavin Dosch at two-over.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Utah Junior PGA Championship and a big thank you to Soldier Hollow Head Professional Chris Newson and his staff for hosting our championship yet again.

Click Here for Full Results.

Click Here for Tournament Photos.

This year will be remembered for more reasons than one, the Utah Section PGA hopes that one of those reasons was the opportunity to receive some closure on the 2020 high school golf season as classifications 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A were able to compete in the Spring Individual Championship at Rose Park Golf Course on June 4^th.

Annabelle Millard of Dixie High School, who will graduate in 2022, stole the show for the day and for the 4A classification with a round of (-4) 70, the low round of the event.

“Everything really fell in place, my mental game was really strong,” Millard said about her round.

“I was really excited when I found out about this event. I just feel like it gave a little bit of closure, especially to seniors, who wouldn’t have had state otherwise.”

Millard had six birdies on the day and had a three-hole stretch of birdies on holes seven, eight and nine.

As for the future, Millard added, “I definitely want to play college golf wherever I can and hopefully continue to win state tournaments.”

Ellie DeMond of 3A Morgan High School picked the perfect moment to shoot her career-low round.

The Morgan freshman shot a (+1) 75 to win the 3A Girls Individual Championship. Richfield High School’s Ellie Hair finished runner-up with a (+3) 77.

“My chipping helped me a lot today,” DeMond said.

The second-lowest score on the day came from Rowland Hall freshman Arden Louchheim who shot a (-1) 73 to win the 2A Individual Championship.

“I kept my drives generally in play… it was nice to have shorter wedges in,” Lochheim said.

“Golf has been one of my only constants throughout all of this because we’ve been able to play socially distanced. It was great to get out and play. I was hoping to win state with my team, but it was definitely cool to win individualy.

“I wanted to thank the Utah PGA for putting on this awesome tournament, Rowland Hall and my coach Clay Ogden.”

Rich High School junior McKina Stacey won the 1A Girls Individual Championship with a (+21) 95, two strokes better than her sophomore teammate Natalee Parry, who finished runner-up.

“My main goal was just to relax and focus on my game, rather than other people, and just play my game.

“I was so pumped,” Stacey said of her reaction when she learned of the event. “I was a little out of practice, but I was so excited.”

Rounding out the event was the Boys 1A Individual Championship, won by Manila High School junior Brody Schofield, who shot (+4) 76.

Schofield decided he wanted to be a golfer after watching the 2015 Masters tournament. The nearest golf course is an hour drive from his home.

“I was so pumped,” Schofield said about learning of the event. “The reason everyone wants this is because we love competition. When you can compete, it gives you something to work for.

“The closest course to me is an hour away in Green River, Wyoming. I hit in a cow pasture quite a bit, that’s where I really get a lot of my practice done and then in my backyard chipping and putting.”

The Utah Section is in a fortunate position to be able to provide an individual championship to the spring classifications in a year that isn’t quite going as planned.

For full results CLICK HERE

For photos of the event CLICK HERE

With Covid precautions in place, the 2020 Utah Section PGA Spring Pro-Pro looked a little different and was held a little later in the year as usual, but the results and the comradery were just as good.

There was a tie at the top of the leaderboard when all was said and done. Team Mark Owen/Chris Moody and Team Dustin Volk/Pete Stone finished with a (-8) 64 at Ogden Golf & Country Club.

With six birdies and an eagle on the par-five 12^th hole, Owen and Moody had a blemish-free card and through a scorecard playoff will take the 2^nd seed going into the season-long Utah PGA Four-Ball Championship.

Defending Champions Chris Gresh and Dustin Pimm will take the 1^st seed, with the first and second rounds being played on June 2^nd.

Volk and Stone had only one blemish on the card, but with an eagle on the par-five sixth hole and seven birdies, they were able to reach eight-under and will go into the Four-Ball Championship as the third seed.

“We had a great turnout as always, Charley Carlson is a great sponsor, he always is, he worked with us through all the changes,” Utah PGA Executive Director Devin Dehlin said. “We want to thank Craig Sarlo, Bob Wallace, everyone at Ogden country club, along with their membership for allowing us to use their course.

“It was awesome, it was great from my standpoint and the Section staff, to see many of our members because we haven’t seen them in a while.”

Traditionally the Spring Pro-Pro is held alongside the Spring Meeting, but to avoid large gatherings the meeting was cancelled.

The Four-Ball Championship bracket is set and the tournament is underway. The first two rounds will be held at Ogden Golf & Country Club, while the remaining rounds will be scheduled by each individual match until the championship match.

For Spring Pro-Pro results CLICK HERE.

For Four-Ball Championship bracket CLICK HERE.

The 2020 Glenmoor Major kicked off the Utah PGA Junior Series summer season, provided two exemptions into the 2020 Utah State Amateur and tickets to the season-ending Promontory Major Championship.

The 36-hole championship providing plenty of excitement, including recent 5A/6A Girls Individual Championship winners Berlin Long and Lila Galea’i playing from the blue tees to be eligible for the two exemption spots into the Utah State Amateur, the world’s longest continually run golf tournament.  

It was St. George resident Boston Bracken who held the lead after day one at Glenmoor with a (-5) 67, BYU verbal commit Tyson Shelley was one-stroke back and three others tied for third, including Long at three-under.

Shelley took control of the final round with a (-4) 68 to win the overall event and the Boys 17-18 division.

Shelley was previously exempt into the Utah State Amateur with his performance in the 2019 Utah Open, finishing in the top-five among amateurs, leaving an extra spot to be earned.

“Everything was working well today on the course, it feels really good to get the win,” said Shelley. “I just hit good shots all throughout the tournament and I was able to make putts. My goal is to win the State Am.”

Sean Lam (-5) shot a final-round (-3) 69 to punch his ticket into the State Am, which is scheduled to play at Jeremy Ranch Golf and Country Club in September. He also won the Boys 15-16 division, finishing his round birdie, eagle.

“My putter was working really well today,” Lam said. “I started off kind of slow then the back nine I finished birdie-eagle.

“It feels nice to get in the State Am, kind of some redemption because I didn’t make it to match play the last two years.”

First-round leader Boston Bracken didn’t find the final-round results he was hoping for, but did play well enough to find his way into the State Am.

Bracken just finished the 8^th grade and is an incoming freshman at Crimson Cliffs High School.

“Feels pretty good,” Bracken said of getting a spot into the State Am. “My first time trying to qualify, first time making it, so feels good. I’m looking forward to a lot of good competition.”

Bowen Mauss won the Boys 13-14 division with rounds of (-4) 69-71 with four birdies on Glenmoor’s back nine in the final round.

Claire Whisenant won the Girls 17-18 division with a final-round 73, finishing three-over for the tournament. Long finished second at four-over and Galea’i finished third at five-over.

Millie Terrion (+6) won the girls 15-16 divison with rounds of 71-79 and Ashley Lam (+15) won the Girls 13-14 division with rounds of 83-76.

The top-five finishers in each boy’s division and top-four finishers of each girl’s division earned exemption into the season-ending Utah PGA Jr. Series Promontory Major Championship.

For all photos from the tournament click HERE.

For full results click HERE.

In uncertain times, it’s the simple things that go a long way. Though there was a lot of planning and consideration into creating an individual championship for spring high school golf, there were a lot of happy faces on 5A and 6A girls competing individually at Fox Hollow Golf Club in American Fork on May 27^th.

The Utah Section PGA staff, alongside the Fox Hollow Golf Club staff put many precautions in play to ensure a safe, responsible outlet for golfers to play and compete. Though it doesn’t compare to a traditional high school state tournament, as this event was in no way affiliated with the Utah High School Activities Association, the top 10 finishers in each classification were rewarded a spot on the 2020 All-State Team, which the Utah PGA has awarded for the past 12 years.

Two girls stole the show at Fox Hollow: Lehi High School junior Lila Galea’i won the 5A Individual Championship with a (-5) 68 and Lone Peak sophomore Berlin Long won the 6A Girls Individual Championship with a (-6) 67, making a 30-foot birdie on the 18^th hole to earn low score of the tournament.

“It was super great, not a lot of tournaments going on so I was really looking forward to this one,” said Galea’i. “It was just really fun getting out and playing with all the girls… senior year next year, for me, so I need to make sure I don’t take any moments for granted and have fun and do my best. I just want to enjoy every moment I can with the Lehi girls.

Galea’i certainly made the most of the playing opportunity and made two eagles on the front nine, the first on the par-five second hole with a 40-foot putt and the next on the par-five 9^th hole.

In a windy afternoon, the 6A portion of the 5A/6A Individual Championship took place with another top junior in the state taking control.

Lone Peak sophomore Berlin Long started with birdies on three of her first four holes and claimed one more on the 9^th to go out in 33.

Seeing Galea’i finished at five-under as Long made the turn, it then became a goal of hers to get low score of the day.

A rocky start to the back nine, with a par on the par-five 10^th and a bogey on the par-three 13^th, Long proceeded to make three birdies coming in, including her exciting finish on the 18^th to cap it off.

“I knew that if I wanted to beat her, I had to make it. I just thought to not leave it short and give it a chance to go in,” she said of her putt on the last green.

“I’m really happy we were able to put it on and give seniors a last chance to play,” Long said. “It was really fun. It’s definitely different because you don’t get the team aspect, but we’re all out here supporting each other.”

For photos from the event CLICK HERE.

For full results CLICK HERE.

Palisade Golf Course Head Professional Jordan Van Orman had many other things planned for the 2020 Sanpete County Open May 16^th, winning the event was not one of them.

“I think everyone knows how much goes into running a big event, add in the COVID-19 precautions we had to implement and it made for quite a busy week leading up to the tournament,” Van Orman said. “I was drained, the thoughts at the forefront of my mind were not playing golf.”

Van Orman shot a (-9) 63 to win the tournament at Palisade, one-stroke better than Riverside Country Club Head Professional Chris Moody and two-strokes ahead of Promontory Director of Golf Ryan Kartchner.

It was the putter that Van Orman attributes to the win, “I putted really well, I probably made around 100 feet worth of putts.”

But it was 96-yard wedge on the 16^th hole that really showed how dialed his game was. “I had hit down into the adjacent fairway and had about 96 yards to the pin. With the ball below my feet, I grabbed my 60-degree wedge and ended up knocking it into the hole. It looked good coming of the club, but I never would have guessed that it would find the bottom of the cup.”

Expectations going into the event were more focused on running a good tournament, however, Van Orman has his sights on playing more events this season.

“You know I kind of had a mix of expectations,” he said. “In 2019 I played the least amount of golf since I turned professional. My wife and I had our first child in March 2019 and all of my time, thoughts and focus were on spending time with her and my family. I made the commitment early this year to play more golf now that she is a little older, so my expectations were higher but I never would have foreseen the results that came on Saturday.”

Up next for Van Orman is the Utah Section PGA Spring Pro-Pro and Four-Ball Championship with Sunset View Head Professional Casey Fowles and then the Millard County Open in June.

Steve Schneiter of Schneiter’s Pebblebrook won the Senior Professional division with four birdies and only one blemish on the card to finish (-3) 69.

There was a three-way tie for second place in the Senior Professional divsion between Mountain View’s Mark Owen, Bloomington Country Club’s Scott Brandt and BYU Men’s Coach Bruce Brockbank at (-1) 71.

For Sanpete County Open results click HERE.

Story by Mike Sorensen for the Deseret News

Although there will be no high school sports sanctioned by the Utah High School Activities Association this spring, tournaments for female golfers and a few male golfers will be played later this month.

The Utah Section PGA, which has helped run the state girls golf tournaments for the past decade, will hold an individual championship with each high school able to invite six golfers to compete. No team competition will be held.

The first event will be played on May 27 at Meadowbrook Golf Course in Salt Lake County Fox Hollow Golf Course for girls that play at 6A and 5A schools. On June 3 June 4, a tournament for 4A, 3A and 2A girls as well as 1A boys will be played, also at Meadowbrook at Rose Park Golf Course (boys prep golf for classes 2A through 6A are held in the fall).

“We’re sensitive to all the seniors who didn’t get to play and feel bad they had to miss out on this season,” said Utah Section PGA executive director Devin Dehlin. “We look forward to being able to give the kids something to look forward to.”

The entry fee is $40 per player with entries taken at utahpga.com. Golf coaches should send their list of players to agoodman@pgahq.com. Entries will close May 15 at 11 a.m.

Dehlin said the safety of the players, staff and everyone involved in the events will be a priority and tournament officials will be following CDC guidelines. They also will be following guidelines current at most golf courses with no rakes in bunkers, flagsticks left in and no scoreboard or scoring area. No coaches or caddies will be allowed and a decision on whether to allow spectators will be made closer to the dates of the tournaments.

The Utah Section PGA will also name 10-player all-state teams from each classification after the meets.

Welcome to the May issue of Utah PGA Monthly digital magazine!

In this issue:

Why I Play – Glenwild Assistant Pro Brianna Coopman

What’s in the Bag – Homestead Golf Club Director of Golf Mike Jurca

Membership Memories – PGA Life Member Reid Goodliffe

This or That? – Bloomington Country Club Head Pro Mark Boggs

Tips for the Pro – Willow Creek Country Club Director of Golf Eric Nielsen

Click HERE to read!

The Oaks Open is traditionally the event that kicks off the spring season for Utah PGA Professionals. Though the 2020 running of the event looked a little different due to the current health pandemic, The Oaks at Spanish Fork was a sight for sore eyes for many.

Red Ledges Assistant Professional Aaron Purviance put on a show of eight birdies with only one blemish on the card to turn in a round of (-7) 65 to win The Oaks Open on Saturday, May 2^nd, one shot better than Valley View Assistant Professional Pete Stone.

“Winning this tournament was an awesome feeling considering I haven’t played a competitive round in a couple months,” Purviance said.

“My putting was a lot better than usual, I was making putts that I normally don’t make and my speed control was great – didn’t miss inside 10 feet.”   

The 23-year-old from North Carolina, who’s been in Utah for three years, got off to a hot start with birdies on two of his first three holes, taking advantage of the back-to-back par fives on holes two and three.

No matter his impressive start, it was his finish that handed him the title, his first in Utah. With birdies on holes 15, 16 and 18, he played the last four holes in three-under.

Stone started the back nine with an eagle, followed by three birdies, but it was two bogeys on the back, including the 18^th hole, that caused the one-stroke deficit.

Purviance has his eyes set towards the Utah Open, with a goal to win the 2020 event at Riverside Country Club in Provo, along with placing well in the other events he plays in.

Bloomington Country Club Director of Golf Scott Brandt took the Senior Professional Division with a steady (-3) 69. With nine-straight pars on the front nine, Brandt turned it around with four birdies and only one bogey on the back, finishing strong with birdies on 17 and 18.

Bloomington Country Club and SunRiver Golf Club Owner Jimmy Blair finished two strokes behind Brandt with a (-1) 71 round for second place.

BYU commit Zach Jones, who had been serving an LDS mission for eight months until sent home temporarily due to the virus, repeated as Low Amateur with (-5) 67.

Click HERE for full results.

By Randy Dodson

He was sitting in the corner of the viewing room by himself.

I looked at him, not catching his eye, and turned away thinking that I had met him before, somewhere. He looked familiar but I couldn’t place a name with his face. As much as I have run around in Utah’s golf circles it bothered me that I could not name him.

I moved along the viewing line at Billy Casper’s funeral and took a few more glances at him, again without catching his eye.

I paid my respects to Billy, his wife Shirley and the family then turned to find a seat in the chapel.

With one last look, he was looking right back at me. Not wanting to be disrespectful of someone I was sure I knew I walked over, shook his hand and introduced myself.

He smiled and said, “I’m Doug Sanders.”

I knew just enough of the former PGA Tour member to recognize his face but not enough to remember why.

For the next few minutes I sat with the “Peacock of the Fairways” as he told me a few stories of playing with Billy during their PGA Tour heyday. With a tear on his cheek he told me how they caravanned from stop to stop and that Billy would come to Houston and play his tournament. He missed the camaraderie of those days on tour.

Bob Casper said Sanders was known for going out of his way to be nice. “My mother said it meant a lot to her and our family that Doug attended the funeral.” He had driven to Utah from Texas to be there that day. Just for Billy. “That was really special to us,” Casper said.

From head to toe you could not miss Doug Sanders. With 20 PGA Tour wins he is best known for his neon-bright colorful apparel and for missing a three-foot putt to win the 1970 Open Championship at St. Andrews. Sanders lost the following 18-hole playoff to Jack Nicklaus by one-stroke, 73 to 72. It was the second of three Nicklaus wins at the Open and the fourth of four runner-up finishes Sanders had in major tournaments.

“I remember thinking how bizarre it was that he would show up at an LDS  church in Utah County,” says sports anchor Wesley Ruff. “I think most people think of him as the guy who jabbed that little putt at the Open at St. Andrews and ended up in a playoff with Nicklaus, which he lost. But he won 20 times on the Tour. That’s a lot! What he did in the majors in 1966 is pretty amazing. Top 10 in all four that year! T2 at the British, T4 at the Masters, T6 at the PGA Championship, and T8 at the U.S. Open. And he won three times that year, including a playoff win over Arnold Palmer at the Bob Hope Desert Classic.”

Former Utahn Laury Livsey, the PGA Tour’s senior director of international communications provides the following history of Sander’s playing days in Utah:

“The two PGA Tour events Sanders played in Utah were the 1958 and1960 Utah Opens, both at the Salt Lake Country Club. He was T15 in 1958, fifth in 1960. Pretty respectable. In 1960, he held the 54-hole lead (64-67-64), two shots ahead of Bill Collins. He shot a final-round 71 to (Utah Golf Hall of Famer) Billy Johnston’s 63 and finished four shots behind Johnston (a prince of a guy who will deserve a long obituary and all the accolades despite not having near the career Sanders had). It went Johnston, Art Wall Jr, Collins and Ken Venturi (T3) and Sanders in fifth. A third-round 73 derailed his chances in 1958. As for his PGA Tour Champions career, he played once at Park Meadows, in 1999, when he was well past his prime. He finished 77th.”

Of the1960 Utah Open Deseret News sports writer George Ferguson reported, “And so it was that despite multi-sensational rounds, which entertained the huge galleries no end, the sub-par scorched course eventually put the whammy on all previous leaders – Jay Herbert, Bill Collins, Doug Sanders and Dow Finsterwald.

“Sanders, who carried a two stroke lead into Monday’s finale, found his nemesis lurking in the island of scrub oak which protects No. 4 green and prompts a play it safe or gamble decision.

“Doug gambled. And before he had scrambled out of the oak, onto the bordering rough, in and out of a sand trap and into the cup, he had a bogey and had lost the lead – at that particular point to Finsterwald and Collins.

“That seemed to set a scrambling pattern for Doug. The young man with the brief backswing who shared the lead the first day and led the third was through. He came in with a 71, a 266 total, good for fifth and $1,100.”  (Deseret News September 13, 1960.)

Of local interest, 2020 Utah Golf Hall of Fame inductee Lou North was the low amateur of the 1960 Utah Open at T25 with professional Dick Kramer. George Schneiter Sr. beat his nephew Ernie Schneiter Jr. for 28th place and a $90 payday. 

My only previous encounter with the Sanders persona happened in the Las Vegas National clubhouse where, as a former winner of the 1959 Sahara Pro Am, then an unofficial PGA Tour event and predecessor to the PGA Tour’s Sahara Invitational, Sander’s complete pink outfit; shirt, sweater, belt, pant, socks and shoes is enshrined in the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame.

Though his life on tour was full of documented shenanigans off the course, my memory of Sanders from our brief chat in Billy Casper’s viewing room is of a soft spoken man with a vivid memory of meaningful times with famous friends, playing a game that defined his life and lifestyle.

Sanders, at 86-years old, passed away earlier this week, on Easter Sunday, in Houston, Texas. 

Randy Dodson is the publisher of Fairways magazine and a frequent contributor to the Utah PGA News page.