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The 2022 Junior PGA Championship hosted at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Illinois will have four Utah junior golfers, two boys and two girls, who qualified through the Utah Junior PGA Championship at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway, Utah June 13-14.

Looking at the scoreboard alone, you wouldn’t guess the competitors battled through rainy and windy conditions. Alpine’s Cooper Jones shot rounds of (-17) 64-63 to qualify for the championship at Cog Hill. Runner-up, and high school teammate Kihei Akina also put together two rounds in the 60’s with an (-11) 68-65 to snag the second qualifying spot.

“It’s exciting to get in,” Jones said of qualifying. “I haven’t played in it before so I’m excited to get out there. To play a PGA Tour venue is sweet.”

Jones put together two bogey-free rounds and was six-under through nine holes in the final round. “Nothing was off, it was just simple golf,” he added.

“Everything was solid all around,” Akina said of his play, “didn’t have too many bogeys and I took care of the par-fives. “It feels good to qualify, I’m excited to go play. If I can play well there, it shows me I can get to the PGA Tour one day like some of the past champions have.”

Ali Mulhall is at it again by winning back-to-back Utah Junior PGA Championships. With rounds of (-9) 67-68 she’ll be making her second-consecutive appearance in the Junior PGA Championship.

This time, however, a sudden-death playoff was needed with Sunbin Seo, who also finished T2 in the 2021 Utah championship, to determine a winner.

Seo had rounds of (-9) 66-69 to claim the second qualifying spot and force a playoff with Mulhall.

With a birdie on the first playoff hole, Mulhall took the top spot.

“It almost doesn’t feel real to compete on the same courses as Tour professionals, because I’m just a junior,” Mulhall said about Cog Hill, “but it’s nice to have that opportunity.”

Mulhall won her age division in the 2021 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National and has also qualified to compete in Japan this September in the Professional Long Drivers Ladies World Championship.

Seo was undecided on whether she will be able to play in the Junior PGA Championship. If she does not attend, the first alternate is Berlin Long, who finished third with rounds of (-8) 68-68. She also represented Utah in the 2021 Junior PGA Championship.

RESULTS

PHOTOS

The 2022 Utah PGA Junior Series Major season is here, beginning with the Glenmoor Jr. Major played June 10-11 at Glenmoor Golf Club, where two Utah State Amateur exemptions and spots in the season-final Promontory Major were up for grabs.

The 36-hole championship was highlighted by the two available exemptions into the 2022 Utah State Amateur, the longest continuously-running golf championship in the world. The exemptions were available for the boys 15-18 divisions.

Lehi’s KJ Ofahengaue, the Boys Major Player of the Year in 2021, lead the way the entire time with rounds of (-11) 68-65 to claim the first spot in the Utah State Amateur and win the boys 17-18 division.

“I kept the ball in play, hit my wedges good, made a lot of putts and had no bogies today,” Ofahengaue said. “I can’t wait for the State Am. That’s a big tournament and I’m looking forward to it.”

Murray’s Peter Kim made a final-round charge with a (-5) 67, leaving him at 7-under for the event to finish runner-up and claim the second spot into the State Am.

“I hit a lot of fairways and gave myself a lot of looks for birdies today,” Kim said. “I haven’t played the State Am, this will be my first time so I’m pretty excited about that.”

Rounding out the boy’s division champions, St. George’s Boston Bracken went (-6) 70-68 to win the boys 15-16 division, two-shots clear of runner-up Noah Moody (-2). There was a three-way tie for third between Will Blanchard, Jackson Shelley and Lincoln Markham at 1-under. All five qualified for the Promontory Major Championship.

Matching the low round of the tournament, Jaxon Erickson shot a final round (-7) 65 to win the boys 13-14 division at 7-under, shooting even the first day. Tyse Boman (E) finished 2^nd and Mo LeCheminant (+2) finished 3^rd.

Erickson, Boman and LeCheminant were all members of the 2021 PGA Jr. League Thanksgiving Point championship team.

Rounding out the Promontory qualifiers for the Boys 13-14 division is Thomas Seaquist and Ian Miyasaki.

It was a come-from-behind victory for Pati Uluave (+8) in the girls 17-18 division, earning the championship by one-stroke over Millie Terrion (+9). A steady streak of three birdies on the front and a run of six pars on the back seemed to do the trick for Uluave.

Jane Olson (+11) finished third and Ellie DeMond (+18) filled the last qualifying spot for Promontory in the division.

Ashley Lam had rounds of (+5) 73-76 to win the girls 15-16 division. And if there were a competition between the girls ages 15-18, she would have won that, too.

Lam will join Madalyn Hadley, Reimi Bleyl and Adley Nelson in August at the Promontory Major Championship.

Last, and certainly not least, is Kate Walker of St. George, who has yet to lose a Utah PGA event she has competed in. She starts 2022 off strong with rounds of (+9) 75-81 to win the girls 13-14 division.

Natalie Mclane, Stratton Durrant and Remi Rawlings fill out the top five and earn a spot in the season-ending championship.

Thank you to all who played and especially to Glenmoor Head Professional Darci Olsen for hosting our first Major of the season. The course was in near-perfect conditions thanks to Superintendent Joey Olsen and his staff.

Full Results

Photos

Riverside Teaching Professional Matt Baird survives six matches against Utah Section professionals in route to win the 2022 Utah Section PGA Match Play Championship at Hubbard Memorial Golf Course at Hill Air Force Base in Layton, Utah May 23^rd-25^th.

Baird is coming off a three-win 2021 season, including the Section Championship, and is picking up right where he left off – with a 5&4 win against Tommy Sharp in the final match and a victory in a tournament he’s been wanting his whole PGA Professional career.

“Something last year kind of clicked with my game,” Baird said. “I went into the National Club Pro feeling pretty good, I didn’t get into the PGA Championship, but I just felt like this was going to be a good year.

“This tournament is the one I’ve always wanted to win, so coming into this week I told myself to be really patient and just kind of chug along, and I did.”

In the course of three days, Baird played a lot of golf at Hubbard – nearly averaging 36 holes a day.

On his path to the trophy, he finished 1-up over Jadyn Wayment, 2&1 over Mike Jurca, 2&1 over Tracy Zobell and 2&1 over Jordan Gibbs to get into the Semifinals. That’s when the marathon began with three-time Rolex Women’s Player of the Year Haley Sturgeon, assistant pro at the Salt Lake Country Club and the first woman to reach the Semifinals of the Section Match Play Championship.

Baird got off to a quick lead in the Semifinal match against Sturgeon, going 2-up in the first three holes. However, Sturgeon slowly climbed back and was 1-up with five to play.

Baird would regain a 1-up lead on their 15^th hole, but Sturgeon would tie it again with a clutch two-putt on Hubbard’s 7^th hole. Tied with two to play, nervy pars were made from both professionals to send the match into extra holes.

Five extra holes were needed to decide a winner. After making several five-foot putts to keep her chances alive, Sturgeon’s par on the par-four 14^th hole slipped by the hole, ending her run to the championship match.

Sturgeon’s path to the Semifinals included wins over Brent Shaver, Aaron Purviance, Zach Johnson in 19 holes and Mark Owen in 18. Sturgeon has mentioned in the past her goal of winning the Section’s Rolex Player of the Year in addition to Women’s Player of the Year. A performance like this proves she’s on her way.

“Haley took me to 23 holes and I took that as a positive thing,” Baird said. “When we went to the playoff and I hit my tee shot on 10, I felt something in my swing I think helped me beat Tommy today.”

Salt Lake Golf Academy’s Tommy Sharp cruised to the championship match, passing through Michael Councilman 8&7, Shane Scott 3&2, Bruce Summerhays 7&6, Joe Summerhays 2&1 and then Todd Tanner 2&1.

However, in the final match the putts stopped falling falling for sharp and continued falling for Baird.

Baird birdied three of their first six holes to go 2-up through 9 and continued his run with birdies on Hubbard’s 1^st, 4^th and 5^th holes to win 5&4.

“I love the putter I have,” Baird said. “I was putting it really well this whole week.”

With the win, Baird moves up three spots in the Rolex Player of the Year rankings and sits in 3^rd behind Sharp and Casey Fowles.

A big thank you to Derek Bekins, Jason Moon and Major Mir at Hubbard Golf Course for hosting this championship every year and treating our membership well. Thank you to Molly Krick from Maui Jim for sponsoring the event and providing the best sunglasses around.

2022 Match Play Bracket

May is here which means a new issue of Utah PGA Monthly digital magazine!

In this issue:

Membership Memories: Jon Schneiter

PGA Journey: Xena Motes

Section Roundtable: Growing your Teaching & Coaching Business with Michael Merritt , Craig Hocknull & Rob Krieger

Why I Play: Jordan Gibbs

Read it here!

By Kurt Kragthorpe

Kendra Dalton says she’s a better golfer than ever. That statement covers last season, when her third missed cut of the Epson Tour schedule didn’t come until September.

Now that she has failed to play the final round in three of five tournaments in 2022, including the Copper Rock Championship, she recognizes that her degree of self-belief lacks supporting evidence on her scorecards.

The numbers added up to 77 and 78 for the former BYU golfer this week at Copper Rock Golf Course, the second-year host of the event presented by KSLSPORTS.com. Friday’s variable weather pattern in Hurricane produced cold, windy, rainy and, finally, sunny conditions just before sunset. By then, it was too late for Dalton and Haley Sturgeon to rally and earn a place in the final-round field Saturday, when conditions are expected to be much more pleasant.

Sturgeon, an assistant pro at The Country Club in Salt Lake City, performed better in the second round to extend her trend of last April, when she also received a sponsor exemption into the LPGA Tour-brand stop at Copper Rock. Sturgeon (81-76) bogeyed the last two holes Friday, after a birdie on the par-4 No. 13 (No. 6 for regular play) had tied her with Dalton, an Epson Tour regular.

Emma Broze, a former Oklahoma State golfer from France, has posted 73-68 for a 3-under-par total and a two-stroke lead over three players. The rest of the field is over par for the tournament.

The cut came at 8 over par, four shots higher than last year (before the wind became the story of the final round and scores soared). Dalton missed by three strokes this week, even though she played the back nine in even par for two days.

Defending champion Bailey Tardy (78-75) missed by one shot, thanks to a bogey on the par-4 No. 17 (usually No. 10), where she partially shanked a short-iron approach shot into a bunker that’s seemingly not even in play on the other side of the creek from the green.

Two former amateur stars advanced, though. In her pro debut, 17-year-old Alexa Pano (79-73) made the cut on the number. Gabriela Ruffels, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, bounced back from an 81 with a 66 that included an eagle on the par-4 No. 10 (usually No. 3), where she drove the green.

As for Dalton, she bogeyed six of the first 11 holes Friday in a round that seemed doomed from the start, even while a 75 would have been sufficient to keep playing. Heavy rain stopped just in time for Dalton to tee off in the mid-afternoon, but cost her a warmup session. Her tee shot on the par-5 No. 1 went into the desert to the right of the fairway, leading to a bogey. Dalton’s iron game was off all day, although she was more disappointed with a short game that’s “really killing me” and couldn’t overcome those ball-striking issues.

“I feel like I’m better than I’ve ever been,” Dalton said, “but I’m not scoring.”

So she’ll travel to Garden City, Kansas, next week, hoping that the remaining three-fourths of the tour schedule will evoke better results. “Everything’s there,” she said of her game. “You just keep moving forward and learning. I know it sounds crazy, but I know it’s there, and I’m going to do it.”

Sturgeon also left Copper Rock feeling encouraged, while wishing she could have done more with her limited tour exposure for 2022. “I have the game,” she said. “It’s mental, and then it’s just accepting the elements. And, I think, belief in yourself is a big part of it.”

She’ll keep working on her game and on her Class A PGA membership. Sturgeon wants to use that status to become eligible for the Utah Section PGA Player of the Year award. She means overall, not only among female pros, as a three-time Women’s Player of the Year.

By Kurt Kragthorpe

 Smiles have varying styles. Kendra Dalton’s wry grin came with a shake of her head and an expression of exasperation Thursday as she stood on the No. 9 tee of Copper Rock Golf Course, buffeted by the wind in her face.

The second Copper Rock Championship resumed in the same, relentlessly windy conditions as the inaugural tournament ended last April. The scores told the story in the opening round of the 54-hole Epson Tour event presented by KSLSPORTS.com: LPGA Tour veteran Kim Kaufman’s 2-under-par 70 was good for a one-stroke lead and, even more remarkably, only three other golfers shot par or better.

“You can get punished out here,” Dalton said, after absorbing two double bogeys on the front nine. The former BYU golfer rallied by playing the back nine in 1 under par, posting a 77 that “sounds awful,” she acknowledged, although that number looked a lot better as the afternoon progressed.

Dalton is inside this weekend’s projected cut line, which came at 6 over par for 36 holes last year. Copper Rock was much more playable in the first two rounds of 2021, before the sustained winds of 30-plus mph arrived for the finish.

Bailey Tardy, who posted 66-70-70 in winning last April’s title, opened with a 78. Alexa Pano, making her pro debut at age 17 after recently appearing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, played the last four holes in 1 under just to shoot a 79.

Haley Sturgeon missed the cut by one stroke last year. In Thursday’s case, she got to experience everything she missed in that final round as the wind took its toll on the 120-player field.

Playing on another sponsor exemption, the assistant pro from The Country Club in Salt Lake City shot an 81, slightly worse than the 79 she opened with last year before responding with a 70.

Sturgeon hopes to make a similar comeback, the biggest question being when she’ll get to play. Thunderstorms are in the forecast for Friday afternoon, when Dalton and Sturgeon are scheduled to tee off among the last few threesomes. If there’s any delay at all, the second round will spill over into Saturday.

Thursday’s average round lasted nearly 6 hours, with the wind requiring an agonizing process on every shot, even (or especially) short putts.

Dalton, in her fourth year on the newly renamed Epson Tour, missed the cut in the first two tournaments of 2022 before advancing in the last two events and ranking 64^th on the money list. Her adventurous front nine Thursday included two swings from a greenside bunker on the par-5 No. 1 (No. 12 for regular play), followed by two good par saves and two missed birdie chances. The most exposed parts of the course then caused her trouble.

Her tee shot on the par-3 No. 6 hit “a wall” of wind, she said, leading to a penalty stroke and a double bogey. On the par-4 No. 9 (usually No. 2), her well-struck approach shot went through the green, then she chipped poorly and three-putted from 15 feet for another double bogey. At that point, she was 6 over and “a little frustrated,” she said, ducking her head on the green of the same hole where she had tried to laugh off the rough conditions just moments earlier.

But she regrouped. Dalton played solidly on the back nine, birdieing the par-5 No. 12 after a great shot out of a fairway bunker, hitting seven greens in regulation and saving pars when necessary.

“A lot of it’s your attitude,” she said of salvaging a round. “You can get pretty mad and keep that angry energy, but that’s something I’m really trying to do, is not react in my mind. I think that just comes with experience.”

Sturgeon knew what she was getting into this week, as a club pro temporarily experiencing life in an LPGA Tour-brand event. Yet the wind and the environment still worked against her.

“You’re just trying to get mentally ready for (the wind),” she said. “Unfortunately, I just couldn’t settle into it and accept it. I feel like I was fighting it a lot. I knew it was coming, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.”

Same with performing in a tour setting. Sturgeon labeled herself as “a little bit more prepared” than last year, but she “still had a lot of nerves going.”

Through 36 holes of the 2022 PGA Professional Championship at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, eight of the 11 qualified Utah Section professionals have made the first cut.

“Utah always performs well here, but this depth is remarkable,” Kurt Kragthorpe, senior Fairways Media writer, said.

Bruce Summerhays, Casey Fowles, Matt Baird, Joe Summerhays, Craig Hocknull, Tommy Sharp, Jordan Gibbs and Steve Schneiter all survived the first cut – from 312 players to 90. Another cut will be made to the top 70 players after today’s third round.

Utah Section Professionals Chris Moody, Pete Stone and Todd Tanner fell just shy of the 36-hole cut.

The top 20 will advance to next month’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills Golf Course in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 16-22.

As the third round is underway now, 3-under par cracks the top 20. Bruce Summerhays and Fowles are currently 1-under.

Follow Live Scoring Here.

Photos: Darren Carroll/PGA of America

April is a special month for golfers, mostly because the playing of the Masters at Augusta National, but also for the beginning of a new golf season in Utah. The Utah PGA Spring Pro-Pro, presented by Charley Carlson and hosted by Ogden Country Club signifies that the season is in full bloom.

Davis Park Head Professional Zach Johnson and new Assistant Professional Caiden Jones teamed up to win the Pro-Pro with a Fourball score of (-10) 62, which included eight birdies and an eagle.

“We both chipped in for birdie,” Johnson said. “Caiden made an awesome eagle, made some birdies and good par saves when I was in my pocket. It was a good team effort.”

Jones, who started the PGA Professional Golf Management program in January, couldn’t have started his Utah Section playing career any better.

“We hammed-and-egged it pretty good,” Jones said. “This is my first Section event, it feels great to come out on top. I have to thank Zach for getting me out here.”

Salt Lake Golf Academy Professionals Tommy Sharp and Corey Badger finished runner-up with a (-9) 63 while Eagle Lake Professionals Eric Bumstead and Joe Summerhays finished third at (-7) 65.

Southgate Professionals Eron Deming and Tyler Dalton finished first in the net division with a (-12) 60.

Per tradition, the Spring Pro-Pro acts as a seeding round for the Utah Section PGA Fourball Championship. In true Utah Spring form, the first and second rounds of the Fourball Championship, scheduled to be played April 12^th at Ogden CC, were postponed due to snow.

Johnson & Jones will take the first seed. Johnson won the 2021 Fourball Championship alongside Hubbard Golf Course at Hill Air Force Base Director of Golf Shawn Edwards. He’ll look to defend this year with Jones.

Before golf was played, we had the opportunity to meet as a membership for our Spring Meeting, hoping to set us off on right foot for the 2022 season. After the meeting, out newest Class-A Member Xena Motes was presented her membership plaque. Motes is the head professional at Hubbard.

Thank you to Charley Carlson for supporting the Utah Section and the Spring Pro-Pro every year and thank you to Craig Sarlo, Bob Wallis and the Ogden Country Club staff for hosting our membership.

SPRING PRO-PRO RESULTS

FOURBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET

By Kurt Kragthorpe

Ernie Schneiter Jr. long ago was inducted into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame, and he has received multiple honors from the Utah Section PGA and the Utah Golf Association during his 70-plus-year tenure as a golf professional.

The recognition keeps coming, in his 90s. Schneiter was presented a Distinguished Service Award on April 6 during the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation’s annual Spring Honors and Awards Banquet in Salt Lake City.

Schneiter was recognized for his impact in northern Utah, having redesigned and expanded Schneiter’s Riverside Golf Course in Riverdale and built Schneiter’s Bluff GC in West Point. He’s credited with introducing countless golfers to the game while promoting golf on a one-on-one basis with his personable nature.

The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation annually presents one or two Distinguished Service Awards. High school drill team advocate Lori Rupp will be honored alongside Schneiter in the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum in the City Creek Center.

Joe Cravens was recognized as a Coach of Merit and Roger Buhrley, John Colosimo, Gil Cordova, Gail Meakins, Alaina Parker and Dave Wigham were named Distinguished High School Coaches.

Schneiter, a 1948 graduate of Weber High School, was inducted into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame in 2004, along with Mike Weir and Mary Lou Baker. He was named the Utah Section PGA Professional of the Year in 1997 and received both the UGA’s Gold Club Award and the PGA’s Jeff Beaudry Golf Ambassador Award in 2000.

Every golfer’s favorite month of the year is here – and more specifically Masters week is upon us!

We’re here to add even more golf to your day with the April edition of Utah PGA Monthly digital magazine: Read it HERE.

In this issue:

Membership Memories: Scott Brandt

Tips For the Pro: Marco Leoni, social media.

Why I Play: Clint Godfrey

This or That?: Jake Wyatt