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By Randy Dodson, Fairways Media

For Mountain View GC Head Professional Mark Owen, the defending champ, the Utah Senior Open is more than a Utah Section PGA Championship.

“This has become one of my favorite tournaments because of the people, all the honorees that have made such an impact on my life and my career. I am happy to say that I have won this one but its always hard to defend, there are so many good amateur players as well as senior pro players.”

The putter was hot for Owen in the opening round, “It seemed all the eight to 10 foot putts were doable today,” he said. Owen made four birdies in a row on holes 4-7 after a bogey on the par 3 second hole. He added three more birdies on the back nine. 

On the final round, Owen finished with just three birdies on the day and carded two bogies, finishing in a tie for second with The Oaks Head Pro Ryan Rhees. The two Utah Section PGA members split the Low Pro money. 

It was Kirk Siddens (a) who took home the crystal champion trophy with rounds of (-9) 66-69. 

Speaking of Siddens, Owen said, “Over the years we’ve had a lot of good games. We used to play a lot of money games together. He’s an excellent player and very capable. He’s had some really good scores this summer.”

Siddens had 11 birdies over his 36-hole performance in the Nevada desert rebounding nicely from his Mid-Am disappointment the week prior. 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group,” Siddens said. “Mark and I have played many times over the years. I know Mark’s game and I know he can play. We putted out on 18 and had to ask each other, who won?”

Fellow senior amateur Rob Bachman turned in a (-3) 141 to win the Super Senior Division, two shots better than pros Brad Stone, David Hall, Terry Outzen, Scott Brandt and amateur Mike Hacker.  Amateur Richard Bradley won the Legend Division at (+3) 147, two shots better than professional Chip Garriss. 

Retired Utah Section PGA Professional Wayne Volk, who had worked for over 40 years at Hill Air Force Base’s Hubbard golf course was this year’s honoree. Volk was honored by his son Dustin Volk, head pro a Valley View and current Section president in a small ceremony outdoors on the clubhouse balcony at Toana Vista GC. 

Randy Dodson is the president of Fairways Media and a frequent contributor to Fairways.

The season-ending Utah PGA Jr. Series Major Championship, played on the Promontory Club Dye Course on July 27^th, was a fitting end to an exciting 2020 Major season with exemptions into the 2020 Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open and Utah Women’s Open events.

Through the season-long qualifying, 71 junior golfers successfully earned a spot into the Major Championship, and going along with this season’s narrative it was Tyson Shelley of the Boys 17-18 division and Grace Summerhays of the Girls 17-18 division that stole the show, playing the difficult Park City course in a combined 13-under.

Boys 17-18

The low score of the day belongs to Shelley with a (-7) 65, earning a five-stroke win over Jackson Holman and Parker Reese, who both finished (-3) 69.

Shelley’s win not only earned him the Promontory Major trophy, but a spot in the Utah Open played at Riverside Country Club August 14-16, and the Utah PGA Jr. Series Majors Player of the Year.

“This was one of my bigger goals this year, to qualify for the Utah Open,” Shelley said. “I played in it last year, but I wanted to get an exemption this year and improve off last year.”

As for his 65, it was mostly his putter that did the work. “I missed two putts inside 20 feet today. I just got the putter rolling, the greens are good enough here where once you get in on your line, it stays on its true roll.”

Shelley capped off a great season with a great win and would surprise no one with a successful showing in the 2020 Utah Open.

Two spots are given to the top boys division to play in the Utah Open, one to the winner of the Promontory Major and one to the Major points leader. Shelley occupied both accolades so the second exemption was awarded to Parker Reese, who finished runner up in the season-long points race.

Reese finished T11 in the Glenmoor Major, T3 at the Davis Valley View Major, T4 in the Utah County Rumble and runner up at Promontory.

With a consistent run in all the Majors, Reese will represent the Utah Section PGA Jr. Series well competing in the Utah Open.

Girls 17-18

With zero blemishes on her card, Summerhays went back-to-back in Utah PGA Jr. Series Major victories with her (-6) 66 at the Promontory Dye Course.

“For the most part I just didn’t get into trouble, overall I just hit greens and made a couple putts,” Summerhays said.

The winner of the Girls 17-18 division is awarded a spot in the Utah Women’s Open, but Summerhays has a different goal in mind.

“I will be playing in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, so unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it to the Utah Women’s Open. It’ll be my first U.S. Am, so I’m really excited.”

With a (-3) 69 Berlin Long finished runner up at Promontory while Rachel Lillywhite placed 3^rd with a (+3) 75.

As for the season-long Majors points race, which consists of the entire Girls 15-18 field, it was Cheyenne Hansen that received the second exemption into the Utah Women’s Open.

“It feels really good, it was my goal to get Player of the Year,” Hansen said. “I’m really excited to play in the Women’s Open, I was really hoping to get in and it worked out perfectly.”

Her Major season consisted of only one event outside the top 10 and a win at the Utah County Rumble. She finished a mere five points clear of runner-up Victoria Romney in the points race.

Boys 15-16

Sean Lam won the Boys 15-16 division with a (-2) 70, with an eventfull back nine that made things a little interesting coming down the stretch, finishing only two-shots clear of second place finishers Lance Smith and Braydon Griffith.

Lam started his back nine with a double on the par-five 10^th, but successfully recovered with two-consecutive birdies. He finished with a birdie on 18 for good measure.

“Off the tee was working well; most of the time I was in the fairway so that gave me good shots into the greens. My putting was good, too, just a lot of two putts. This is my firsts time playing this course, I didn’t know what to expect but it turned out pretty good,” Lam said.

Girls 15-16

Ali Mulhall continued her strong play, coming off a win at the Davis Valley View Major, with a (-2) 70 round in the Major Championship to win the Girls 15-16 division. One stroke ahead of Majors Player of the Year Hansen, who shot a (-1) 71. Arden Louchheim placed 3^rd with a 73.

“I made it on a lot of greens and had a lot of two putts. And I almost made a hole-in-one on 13, just about a foot away,” Mulhall said of her round.

Boys 13-14

A playoff was required to determine the Boys 13-14 Promontory Major champion as Bowen Mauss and Max Landon finished even par for the tournament.

Mauss made up for his bogey on the 18^th hole in regulation by draining a 20-foot birdie putt on the 9^th hole in the playoff to take home the trophy.

“I putted really well and hit my irons close,” he said. “I was feeling a little nervous going into the playoff but I made a good putt for birdie and won it.”

Girls 13-14

Last, but not least, was the Girls 13-14 division where Aadyn Long finished on top with a (+3) 75 round. Ashley Lam finished runner up with a 79 and Madalyn Hadley came in 3^rd with an 85.

For Long, just the opportunity to compete at Promontory was enough.

“It feels good to win, it’s a good tournament. I honestly just came into it, obviously wanting to win, but just to be able to play Promontory is really cool, to see this golf course, it’s such a good tournament.”

This concludes the 2020 Utah PGA Jr. Series Major season. We owe a big thank you to everyone who participated and supported the Utah PGA this year. We owe a lot to the Utah Section PGA Professionals who devoted their golf courses to our membership to make it happen.

Thank you to Promontory Head Professional Cole Carlson for his help running our Major Championship and providing the Dye Course for our juniors to compete on.

Full Results.

Major Points Results.

Event Photos.

The Utah PGA Junior Series Qualifier Major season is complete with the 36-hole Utah County Rumble Major at The Oaks at Spanish Fork on July 13-14, finalizing the field for the season-ending Promontory Major Championship.

Boys 17-18

Tyson Shelley, Boys Major points leader, continued his successful 2020 summer season with rounds of (-11) 67-66 for a five-stroke win over second-place finisher Jack Sargent.

With his second Utah PGA Jr. Series Major victory, the first at the Glemoor Major, he holds a 105-point lead going into the Promontory Major Championship. The winner of the Boys Major points race gets an exemption into the 2020 Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open. The winner of the Promontory Championship on July 27^th will also receive an exemption.

“Off the tee was working really well today,” Shelley said. “This course is really tight so you have to be straight down the middle. You get a lot of wedges too, I think my wedge game was really on these last two days.

“I think the most memorable hole today was on hole 16, I sliced my three iron into the hazard. I had to punch out and I put a seven iron to 20 feet and made it for par.”

Shelley will be a senior at Skyline High School this upcoming season and is verbally committed to play for Brigham Young University.

Girls 17-18

Winning a tournament is hard as it is, throw in competing with your sister in the final pairing of the final round and you have the situation Victoria and Savannah Romney found themselves in at The Oaks.

Victoria won the Girls 17-18 division by a mere stroke over Savannah, finishing (+13) 76-86. Savannah shot 78-85 and Rachel Stewart finished in third at (+21) 87-94.

“I’m glad I was able to get the win today,” Victoria said.

 “It was fun to play together,” she said of competing against her sister. “Though it’s always hard when one of us comes through and wins.”

Victoria relied on her driver today and has her sights on winning the Promontory Championship in two short weeks.

Boys 15-16

Noah Taylor of the Boys 15-16 division started the final round seven-strokes behind first-round leader Jacob Gold, but with a steady (+2) 73-73 tournament, he came out on top and earned a spot into the final major.

“I was putting well today, just solid overall,” Taylor said. “I’ve heard that Promontory is a cool place so I’m excited to get to play.”

Girls 15-16

It took a sudden-death playoff between Cheyenne Hansen and Jacklyn Gonzalez to decide the Girls 15-16 division as they both finished 9-over for the tournament.

It was a par on the par-five 10^th hole that sealed the deal for Hansen to come through with her first Utah PGA Jr. Series Major victory.

“I was so nervous,” Hansen said about the playoff. “I was pretty confident though.

“It was mostly my wedges that helped me today, and I made a couple extra putts.”

Boys 13-14

Cooper Nelson relied on a little home course advantage and birdies on his final two holes to win the Boys 13-14 division by two strokes over JJ Tomsick.

Nelson shot (+9) 76-77, Tomsick shot (+11) 80-75 to finish runner up and Kauner Kay and Max Landon tied for third place at 12-over.

“I made some really clutch putts at the end to get the win,” Nelson said. “I’m hoping to carry this on to future events.”

Girls 13-14

Ashley Lam stole the show in the girls 13-14 division with a (+9) 74-81 win.

On a harder second day, it was her will to “just to keep playing and not give up” that kept her going.

Common with the other champions, her driver made the difference for her to come away with the victory.

Katelin Bingham (+22) finished runner up and Isabell Salas (+24) finished third.

The Oaks at Spanish Fork provided an excellent test for the Utah County Rumble and we owe a big thank you to Head Pro Ryan Rhees and his staff for hosting us.

Full Results.

Tournament Photos.

The 36-hole Davis Valley View Major, the second of four Major tournaments in the Utah PGA Junior Series summer season, produced a shot at 59, a birthday celebration and several exemptions into the season-ending Promontory Major Championship.

Boys 17-18 Division

It was U.S. Junior Amateur champion and two-time Utah State Amateur champion Preston Summerhays who stole the show in the first round at Davis Park Golf Course on July 8^th with five birdies on the front nine and two eagles and a birdie on the back for a (-10) 61.

If that wasn’t enough of a story for day one, Preston drove the 18^th green and had a lengthy putt for a 59, his second chance at that number in competition.

“You can go out and want to be aggressive and shoot low but still, 59s are so hard to do,” Preston said. “But it got in my head once I eagled 13 at Davis to get to nine under. I just needed to birdie three of the last five.

“I had a round maybe a month ago at Lakeside, I think I was eight-under through 12 and then it got too dark so we couldn’t finish. Besides that, just the round at Soldier Hollow at the U.S. Am Qualifier where I shot 60.”

Though a rare three putt on the 18^th prevented a historic number, he held a four-stroke lead over Glenmoor Major champion Tyson Shelley and Parker Reese going into the final round.

It was Shelley in the final round on July 9^th at Valley View Golf Course that made a charge with a 31 on the front nine, including an eagle on the par-four sixth hole. He had caught Summerhays through the 13^th hole then had a chance on 18 to force a playoff, but his six-foot birdie putt slid by.

Preston won the Boys 17-18 division with a tournament total (-14) 61-68. Shelley finished second at 13-under with a pair of 65s and Parker Reese finished third at (-4) 65-74.

Girls 17-18 Division

Though Preston may have stolen the show with a first-round 61, Grace Summerhays, who celebrated her 16^th birthday with her first Utah PGA Junior Series Major victory, finished tied with her elder brother at 14-under to win the Girls 17-18 division.

Grace held the early lead with an (-8) 63 at Davis Park, four-strokes clear of Girl’s Utah PGA Junior Champion Lila Galea’i at (-4) 67.

Grace continued her strong play with a (-6) 66 at Valley View to finish at 14-under and win her first Utah PGA Junior Series Major. Galea’i finished runner up at (-7) 67-69 and Glenmoor Major winner Claire Whisenant, who leads the girl’s Major Point List, finished third at (-4) 71-68.

“It was nice to shoot well today,” Grace said. “Yesterday I hit it okay and made a ton of putts and today I hit it really close, especially on the front nine; I hit it within three feet, three holes in a row. The putter didn’t really have to go off on the front nine… but I was consistent and didn’t really make any bogeys.”

Boys 15-16 Division

Jackson Shelley, the 13-year old younger brother of Tyson, decided to play up an age division and for good reason.

With a first round 68 at Davis he held a two-stroke lead over Tanner Telford and kept his momentum going into the final round with a (-1) 71 to finish four-under overall and win the Boys 15-16 division by two strokes.

“It feels good to get the win,” he said. “I was hitting my driver well and I was putting good.”

In the Glenmoor Major, Jackson missed out on an exemption into the Promontory Major by one stroke, finishing sixth, but with a win, he’s not only in the field at Promontory but will more than likely be in the hunt as well.

Girls 15-16 Division

Henderson Nevada’s Ali Mulhall, who is a frequent competitor in the Utah PGA Junior Series summer season, was two-strokes behind first-round leader Millie Terrion with a (-2) 69 at Davis and proceeded to shoot another 69 at Valley View to win the Girls 15-16 division at five-under.

Arden Louchheim finished runner up at (-3) 70-70 and Terrion finished third at one-under total.

“My putting was good today,” Mulhall said. “I made a lot of good putts. It was fun playing with Millie and Arden.”

Boys 13-14

Rounding out the Boys divisions was Kihei Akina, the Boys 13-14 division champion by one stroke over Sean Lampropoulos.

After round one Akina was tied at the top with Elliot Bond with matching 68s. Valley View proved to be a tougher test as Akina finished the event with a final-round 74, just enough for the win and a spot into Promontory.

“I love that course,” he said about Promontory. “I played it last year and it was really fun.”

Girls 13-14 Division

Aadyn Long punched her ticket into the season-ending championship with a win in the Girls 13-14 division. With a steady (+4) 73-74, she finished 12-strokes clear of second place.

“My driver was the best part. I barely missed the fairway,” she explained.

“It’s a cool course and I’m excited to go play it,” she said of Promontory. “I’m excited to go see it again and go play.”

The final qualifying major will be the Utah County Rumble played July 13-14 at The Oaks at Spanish Fork and the Promontory Major Championship will follow on July 27^th.

We owe a big thank you to Davis Park Head Professional Brad Stone and Valley View Head Professional and Utah Section PGA President Dustin Volk for providing their golf courses to the Utah PGA Junior Series and all the support they provide to junior golf in the state.

Full Results HERE.

Boys Major Points HERE.

Girls Major Points HERE.

Event Photos HERE.

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.