All posts by : Randy Dodson

The road to Augusta made a stop at the Utah PGA Junior Series’ Chip & Putt Local Qualifier Thursday at Rose Park Golf Course. 

Drive, Chip & Putt provides junior golfers 7-15 years old the opportunity to compete at a high level emphasizing on the three main parts of golf. The competition is composed of three drives, three chips, and three putts. Scores are based on the distance of each drive as well as each ball’s proximity to the pin in the chipping and putting categories. 

Kolt Coleman of the Boys 14-15 age division posted the highest score of the day with a 149 and led his division in driving, scoring 39 driving points. Each of the three qualifiers in the Boys 14-15 age division led one categorical aspect of the competition. Cruz Davidson placed second scoring 116, and led the division with 50 chipping points while Zeke Harris rounded out the top three putting up a 106 and thanks to a strong putting performance with 65 putting points, leading his division.

Jraice Finau clinched his spot into the Sub-Regional Qualifier leading the Boys 12-13 division with 128 points thanks to a division leading 36 drive points and 60 putt points. Dylan Distefano and Easton Naea also qualified with Distefano scoring 113 and Naea 112. 

Max Monson scored a 138, the second-best score of the day, en route to capture the Boys 10-11 division. Emery Johnson from Sandy, UT earned runner up honors scoring 128, while Brooks Miller from Bountiful, Utah clinched the last qualifying spot in the division with 97 points. 

Inoke Finau, Will Kroll, and Kristian Short led the Boys 7-9 division, all earning qualification into the Sub-Regional.

Ava Wenrer of the Girls 14-15 division led all girls scoring after leading the division in driving and chipping, scoring a total of 120. Morgan Thomas earned runner up honors with the second-best score of the day thanks to a strong 47 point putting performance, a division best.

Eleanor Henderson Girls 12-13 division winner, along with Taya Snow, and Anushka Rajeev who earned podium honors all advanced to the Sub-Regional after posting 90 plus performances. Girls 10-11 division winner Evelyn Shulthies posted a 95 en route to earning a qualifying spot.

Ruby Fisher claimed the Girls 7-9 title leading the division in driving and putting scoring 44 points followed by Oakley Young who posted a 40 and Ruby Monson who posted a 39, all three will advance to the Sub-Regional. 

The full leaderboard and qualifiers list is available here. 

The Rose Park Qualifier is the second of four Local Qualifiers with the final two taking place at Mountain View Golf Course on June 22, and Eagle Mountain Golf Course on July 7. Just a few Local Qualifier spots remain, enter a Local Qualifying Event today.

After each local qualifier the top three participants with the highest total scores from each age division will move onto the Sub-Regional held at Glenmoor Golf Club on August 25 with the opportunity to play their way to the Regional Qualifier at Chambers Bay. Winners from the Regional Qualifier will advance to the National Finals held at Augusta National the Sunday before the Masters. 

Story by Utah PGA Junior Series Intern, Josh Green. Photos by Utah PGA Junior Series.

The Utah PGA Junior Series hosted a national qualifier June 12-13 at Soldier Hollow’s Silver Course, as participants pursued playing spots in the national Junior PGA Championship. The top-two players in the Boys 16-18 and Girls 16-18 age groups qualified for the national championship to be played at the Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, AR in August.

Oklahoma State University commit Parker Bunn carded a tournament best 61 in his second round clinching the first qualifying spot in the Boys 16-18 age group. Bunn finished the 36-hole event 18-under-par (65-61), a seven-stroke win. Bunn’s remarkable final round included 11 birdies on a clean card of no bogeys. He carded afront nine score of 29 with seven birdies.

Bowen Mauss and Toatele Ofahengaue both finished the event at 11-under-par. With only one qualifying spot remaining a playoff was set to determine the final qualifier. Mauss ousted Ofahengaue in the two-hole playoff to advance to Hot Springs this August, leaving Ofahengaue as the first alternate.

 Ali Mulhall, the Girls 16-18 medalist played her way into the national championship after carding a 12-under-par 36-hole performance which included seven birdies in her final round. Arden Louchheim earned the second qualifying spot carding a final round 4-under-par performance to finish 4-under-par for the tournament. 

Alternates Aadyn Long and Natalie Mclane carded under-par performances with Long finishing at two-under par, earning first alternate and Mclane finishing 1-under-par, earning the second alternate position.

Due to opening round weather delays the Boys 13-15 and Girls 13-15 age groups competed in a shortened 27-hole event. 

Max Landon from Kaysville, became the Boys 13-15 Utah PGA Junior champion with a 31-69 – 100 for the tournament. Brock Porter and Will Anderson finished a stroke back, sharing the second-place honors. Porter shot up the leaderboard after his 8-under-par performance in his second round. 

After both shooting even-par 36’s in their 9-hole first rounds Tacee Hess and Hazel Peters once again found themselves tied heading into the 27th hole. Hess’ final hole birdie clinched the 2023 Girls 13-15 division. Hess finished at 9-over-par with Peters earning runner up at 11-over par. Ellie Von Kolen and Navy Hubbs earned podium honors finishing at 14-over-par.

Full leaderboard recognizing the older division qualifiers and alternates is available here.

Written by Josh Green, a Utah PGA Junior Series intern. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson and Utah PGA staff. 

The Utah PGA Junior Series season is now in full swing with Glenmoor Golf Club playing host to the first Utah PGA Junior Major of the year, June 8-9th.

Utah PGA Junior Majors serve as the main events of the tournament calendar for boys and girls ages 13-18. In addition to earning exemption spots into the season ending Major Championship at Hobble Creek Golf Course, the Glenmoor Junior Major handed out qualification spots to medalists in both Boys and Girls 15-18 fields for the AJGA Salt Lake Junior at Glenmoor to be held August 1-3, 2023.

The 36-hole Glenmoor Junior Major produced worthy champions for those AJGA spots as Parker Bunn and Natalie McClane earned medalist honors. 

McLane, the 2A Girls State champion from Draper APA, finished 5-over par with rounds of 72-77 – 149, a full six shots better than overall runner-up Lily Shin of American Fork High School. Completing the top five were Ellie Jo Olson in third place at (+12) 156 with Sydney Richards and Madalyn Hadley tied for fourth place at (+13). McLane took first place in the Girls 15-16 division.

Parker Bunn, an Oklahoma State Men’s Golf commit playing out of Bonneville High, earned the top spot and the AJGA exemption in the Boys 17-18 division with a (-5) 68-71 – 139 scorecard. Elliot Bond (-4, 140), Lincoln Markham, Bowen Mauss and Jaxon Erickson, all (-2) 142 rounded out the top 5. 

Bunn opened the tournament with a 4-under 68 at the South Jordan course while Bond closed with a 5-under 67, the low round of the tournament. Bond won the Boys 15-16 division. 

Others earning medalist honors at the Glenmoor Junior Major were Calvin Lillywhite (Boys 13-14), Molli Mulhall (Girls 13-14) and Lily Shin (Girls 17-18).

For complete scores in all age divisions, click here. The top three players in all age divisions earn exemptions to the Junior Major Championship.

Thank you to PGA Professional Darci Olson and her staff at Glenmoor Golf Club for hosting the first Utah PGA Junior Major of the season.