Golf often has a stereotype of being a private game, or a game that’s hard to begin because of price, location and intimidation. For The Ridge Golf Club Head Professional Bryant Boshard, winner of the 2019 Utah PGA Player Development Award, it’s exactly opposite.

“Everyone needs a chance to excel in something they enjoy doing,” Boshard said. “Each person that walks through our doors is another opportunity for us to share the great game with. Our program selection makes it easy to cater to every type of golfer, from young to old and beginner to advanced. We want you at The Ridge and we are here to help develop your game and enhance your experience on and off the course.”

Boshard has been in the golf business for 20 years, received his PGA Membership in 2014, has been at The Ridge for seven years and the head golf professional for two.

Inclusion is a main focus for Boshard and his staff. Developing programs for juniors, seniors and veterans has shaped the day-to-day life at The Ridge in West Valley City.

“I became a PGA professional because of my love and passion for the game,” Boshard explained. “Over the past few years working with juniors, seniors and veterans has shown me the value and joy it brings to not only their lives, but my own as well. My new reason for being a PGA professional is to continue to spread the game to as many people as possible and share the joy and love it brings to my life.”

Because of this inclusion-centered belief, The Ridge has won several awards including the Utah Parks & Rec Outstanding Adaptive Program in 2018 because of their focus on veterans and the Utah Best of State Golf Programs in 2019.

The Ridge offers leagues for men, women, juniors and veterans. In the first year of The Ridge Veterans League it ran for three months, the next year doubled and ran for six months and they are expecting it to continue to grow for next year.

“I’m grateful and humbled that I have been selected for this prestigious award and I will take pride in receiving it,” Boshard said. “This award would not have been possible without our amazing assistant golf professionals and the entire staff at The Ridge. Since we re-opened our doors in 2013 our goal has always been the same: Make The Ridge Golf Club a place where people of all ages and skill levels can call home. A place they feel comfortable and a place where they know that our staff is always here to help.”

The Utah Section PGA is excited to announce the 2019 Award Winners. We had so many incredible nominees this year. It is great to know that we have so many PGA Professionals going above and beyond at their facilities and their efforts within Utah golf.

A special thank you to the committee for the time you put into the detailed process of selecting this year’s class. And thanks to all of you for your efforts in growing the game in Utah.

Congratulations to all of our deserving winners! We will be honoring them at the Annual Awards Banquet on February 11, 2020 at Bloomington Country Club in St. George, UT.

Professional of the Year: Craig Norman, Hobble Creek 

Teacher of the Year: Tommy Sharp, Golf Lab

Youth Player Development: Jake Wyatt, Gladstan 

Assistant of the Year: Jon DeBoer, Tuhaye

Jon Unger Award: Brian Howes, Callaway 

Merchandiser of the Year Private: Marty Bauer, Glenwild

Merchandiser of the Year Public: Lynn Landgren, Bonneville

Player Development Award: Bryant Boshard, The Ridge  

Superintendent of the Year Public: Tracy Howard, Carbon Country Club

Superintendent of the Year Private: Paul Stokes, Logan Country Club

Horton Smith: Chad Pettingill, Jeremy Ranch

Bill Howard: Dale Darling

Bill Strausbaugh: Darci Olsen, Glenmoor

Gentleman Jeff: Scott Whittaker

The quality of high school golfers has improved so much over the past few years, the difference between making an All-State team or not comes down to one stroke or even less throughout the season. The Utah Section PGA extends the honor of First Team All-State to the top 10 golfers in each classification, the next 10 are selected to the Second Team, and the next 10 after that are selected to Honorable Mention.

The Utah Section of the PGA of America has been actively supporting high school golf for over 25 years. Twenty years ago they developed the Utah High School All-State Golf Program. The All-State Golf selection process is unique among all-state honors programs in that it is all by the numbers. Thirty-five percent of a players best region scores and sixty-five percent of their state championship scores are used to rank each player. No arbitrary or influenced decisions, it’s all by the numbers. The players skills and scores earn the recognition.

All First Team All-State players will be invited to the All-State Banquet at the end of May 2020. This is just one of many community-based programs that the PGA operates each year to benefit our Utah golf community. Congratulations to all of these players on a fantastic year in golf.

Team selections below, or CLICK HERE.

Glenmoor Head Golf Professional Darci Dehlin-Olsen was elected to the Utah Section PGA Board on October 11^th and is the first-ever female to be elected to the board in Utah Section history.

“I’m honored to do it,” Dehlin-Olsen said. “I think it’s awesome and I think I will be able to be an asset to the section and continue to help grow for more opportunities for women to see that there is an avenue for them in the PGA.”

Dehlin-Olsen has been a member of the PGA for eight years and is currently the head golf professional at Glenmoor Golf Course in South Jordan, Utah. At one point the course was in danger of being shut down and the land sold for development purposes, but Dehlin-Olsen lead a “Save Glenmoor” campaign that garnered the communities’ support to help preserve the course.

In addition to being elected to the Utah Section Board, she has been asked to serve a two-year term on a national women’s leadership committee within The PGA of America.

“I’m very excited about that because I can take some of that and bring it back to our section and try to help not only in Utah, but everywhere to help grow women’s golf and help more women join the PGA.”

One of Dehlin-Olsen’s goals in helping serve the Utah Section is to strengthen the playing opportunities for women members of the PGA in Utah.

“I’m already so thrilled that we have playing opportunities in the section, I’ve missed it,” she said. “It’s fun to go play with the guys and stuff but I can’t fully compete there and there isn’t the camaraderie I feel when playing with the other women in our section. I for sure want to keep growing it and getting more women to join and play.

“Hopefully as female PGA members in Utah we can keep growing high school girls golf and girls golf in the state in general. I just want to be a good example and show that there is a place for you in the golf world and the PGA.”

The Utah Section PGA seeks to be a strong and prominent organization within the golf community by providing quality programs and services to both PGA members and others. With Dehlin-Olsen being a new addition to the board, that goal will only become more of a reality.

“We are excited to have Darci join the board,” Utah Section PGA Executive Director Devin Dehlin said. “We look forward to having a woman’s perspective as we continually look for ways to better serve our membership and grow the game of golf in Utah.

“We want to be more inclusive to all women in our section and having Darci share her ideas on increasing the participation of our women will be a great asset as we grow their involvement.”

In the 2019 Utah Section PGA Women’s Match Play Championship, it was The Country Club Assistant Professional Haley Sturgeon who got off to a hot start and never looked back as she went a total of 10-under par in her semi and final round matches to become the Utah Section PGA Women’s Match Play champion on October 16^th at Riverside Country Club in Provo.

“It feels great,” Sturgeon said about the win. “My golf game has come around and it was fun competing with the ladies. It was a great match and it was fun being out here.”

Sturgeon faced Promontory Assistant Professional Sadie Palmer in the morning semifinal match where she quickly got to a 5-up lead through six holes with four birdies.

Palmer cut the lead down, being 3-down through 12 holes, but Sturgeon’s steady play proved to be too much as she would go on to win the semifinal match with a 4 & 3 win.

Defending champion Emily Jones, 12-weeks from of having her first baby, faced Glenmoor Head Golf Professional Darci Dehlin-Olsen in the semifinals.

The match felt tight the entire round with the biggest lead going to Jones when she was 3-up through 11 holes. But it was Dehlin-Olsen who steadily chipped away at the lead with birdies on the 15^th and 16^th holes, causing the match to be tied with two holes left.

Dehlin-Olsen won the 17^th hole with a par but then struggled on her approach into the 18^th hole, with Jones forcing extra holes and winning the semifinal match on the first extra hole.

With enough excitement in the semifinals to end the season, Sturgeon wasn’t about to let her hot start come to an end.

Going head-to-head against the defending Women’s Match Play champion, Sturgeon made a steady climb to a 7-up lead through 9 holes with three birdies and a conceded eagle on the par-five 5^th hole.

With a birdie on 10 and a sand save for par on the 11^th, making 10-foot putts look like gimmies, Sturgeon won the 2019 Utah Section PGA Women’s Match Play Championship with a 9 & 7 victory.

“I was just focusing on having a good start and focusing hole-by-hole; on to the next hole, boring golf, like we all dream to play every round,” Sturgeon said.

“The opportunity to play here, in October, it’s awesome,” she continued. “And the women’s program that it’s building, it’s great competition. It’s a tight-knit group and it’s fun to be out here playing with the ladies.”

Sturgeon is a Utah junior golf product, she especially gives credit to the girl’s high school golf program where she played for Layton High School and then would go on to play a year of college golf at Utah Valley University and then would transfer to Dixie State and compete until she graduated in 2016.

As for her plans moving forward:

“Right now I’m the assistant golf pro at The Country Club and they are letting me go down to the Cactus Tour in January to play three months down there, then I’ll probably play in the US Open qualifier and then Q school again next year.”

With the way Sturgeon competed in this year’s Women’s Match Play Championship, it would be no surprise to see her find success in her upcoming schedule.

For semifinal and final round photos CLICK HERE.

By Michael R. Abramowitz, PGA of America

Think part Pied Piper. Part Eddie Murphy. Part Nick Faldo, minus the accent and, of course, the game.

ESPN reporter Michael Collins brought his entertaining traveling road show to the 2019 PGA Jr. League Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, for an extended weekend.

Collins—who once did a popular piece online with phenom Akshay Bhatia from the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, where Bhatia (then a U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team Member) taught Collins how to do the “Orange Justice” dance from Fortnite—is as genuine as it gets.

With a jovial personality, distinctive gray beard and hearty laugh, you can’t help but fall for Collins’ shtick. And now he has a 11-year old sidekick in Utah PGA Jr. Leaguer Warren Fisher, who is co-hosting hilarious bits with Collins to air on November 3rd on ESPN2. Stay tuned.

Vaudeville would be proud.

“It was an absolute blast,” said Collins. “Yesterday was the first day I met him. I was impressed the first time I shook hands. Demeanor, knowledge, 11 years old, just a ball of energy.”

Whether it’s putting drills with Team North Carolina that fall into Collins’ uncanny impromptu bravado or it’s joining in the Championship’s Skills Challenge or serving as a serious on-course reporter, Collins has as many options as a Swiss Army knife.

Meanwhile, Fisher, a now two-time PGA Jr. League Championship Cub Reporter, serves as the ultimate complement, with an equally cutting-edge sense of humor and over-the-top personality.

Harry Caray and Steve Stone. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. Michael Collins and Warren Fisher? It’s not too much of a reach, now, is it?

“Halfway through our day, I told Warren, ‘There’s a good chance me and you will do some stuff in the future.’ He’s a lot of fun…He definitely knows what he wants to do. Knowing and being good at it is hard to do, but he definitely has both.

“He knows what he loves to do. He’s good at it. He’s coachable—easy to work with and great at directional stuff. There’s adults not as good, professionally. He’s one of those guys. Any time they want to ask me if I want to work with Warren, just tell me where I need to be and what time.”

Fisher has his eyes set on the stars and the best-dressed list.

“I want to work in television and do some acting, definitely,” proclaims the suave Fisher, who dresses in a Sunday-best, bow-tied suit, and last year, declared that he also wanted to be President of the United States. “Not any more. TV is where it’s at. For sure.”

“I knew just the way he was dressed this is going to be fun,” explained Collins. “I’m jealous of his look. And how he can slurp down all those milkshakes, too.”

Hollywood, here they come. Get their agent on the phone. Tell them the PGA Jr. League Championship is calling.

The 8th PGA Jr. League Championship presented by National Car Rental is being held at Grayhawk Golf Club, Oct. 12-14. Twelve all-star teams from across America are competing for the national title. ESPN2 will televise a highlight show on Sun., Nov. 3, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. ESPN is the new broadcast network of the PGA Jr. League Championship presented by National Car Rental.

For the original story and more info on the PGA Jr. League Championship, click HERE.

After numerous ballots Glenmoor Head Golf Professional Darci Dehlin-Olsen was elected to the Utah Section PGA Board and will fill the director position that Chad Pettingill has held the past three years. We are excited to have Darci join the Board and look forward to having a woman’s perspective as we continually look for ways to better serve our membership and grow the game of golf in Utah.

We would like to thank Todd Tanner, Chip Wesley and Michael Garrison for their willingness to serve the membership and making the selection process very difficult for our members. Four very qualified candidates looking to get involved and make a difference.  We will definitely be asking each of them to serve on various committees and will look forward to them running for future Board positions as they become available.

Thanks to all those that voted and participated in this process and we hope everyone finishes off the season strong. We look forward to 2020 and many exciting things ahead!

The Utah Section PGA Professional Championship, held at Toana Vista Golf Course in Wendover every year, continually provides a platform for great tournament golf and an opportunity to spend two-and-a-half days with fellow Section members.

Davis Park Assistant Professional Zach Johnson certainly took care of the great golf aspect September 16-17 in Wendover, winning his second-consecutive Section Championship with scores of (-9) 66-69, finishing with a six-stroke lead over runner-up Joe Summerhays of Eagle Lake Golf Course.

“It was a lot closer than the final results show, for sure,” Johnson said.

After starting on hole 10, making the turn to the par-four first hole, Johnson and Summerhays were only two-strokes apart when Summerhays proceeded to birdie holes one and three, while Johnson bogeyed two and eagled the par-five third hole.

“The turning point for me was probably I missed a short one on two and made bogey and on three, which that hole tends to get the best of me, I hit an 8 iron there to about 20 feet, hole high and made it for eagle to get it back to even par. Then I made a good par on five and finally started hitting some good shots coming down the stretch.”

Johnson birdied three of the last four holes to separate himself from the field, earning back-to-back Section Championships and punching his ticket to the PGA Professional Championship at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. Johnson will have another opportunity to compete in a major with a chance to qualifying for the 2020 PGA Championship April 26-29.

“The second time is a lot harder, that’s for sure,” Johnson said. “The first time, Joe and I were kind of battling it out and we both kind of had control of our game. Today was the complete opposite, just trying to avoid a train wreck and get in the clubhouse. It was a challenge.”

Not only did he win two Section Championships in as many years, this win also solidified earning his second-consecutive Omega Utah section Player of the Year.

“Again, to do it back-to-back, you don’t think about it the first time it just kind of happens and then this time it’s in the back of your head and you’re kind of aware of what’s going on. And to my own fault it just puts more pressure on you and makes things tougher than usual.

“To do it back-to-back and to win two Section Championships, I’m pretty happy about it.”

Even though regulation play was through, there were still two qualifying spots to fill for the PGA Professional Championship. Summerhays, Tracy Zobell, Tommy Sharp and Matt Baird secured their spots finishing in the top five, but Todd Tanner, Ryan Rhees, Tele Whightman, Chris Moody, Shawn Edwards and Jimmy Blair proceeded to play off for the remaining spots.

Rhees grabbed a spot with a birdie on the second playoff hole while Tanner secured his on the 7^th playoff hole, essentially making birdie on the final four playoff holes. Moody and Wightman were matching birdies on each hole until the very end when Tanner hit his approach to three feet on the 18^th hole.

The Utah Section PGA will be well represented in the 2020 PGA Professional Championship.

In the Senior and Super Senior Divisions, Henry White started the final round three-strokes behind first-round leader Scott Brandt. However, with a steady (-2) 70, he came from behind to claim both trophies by one stroke.

We owe a big thank you to Matt Nadeau, Thomas Frank and Mel Duke of Toana Vista for playing host every year and providing a championship-worthy venue for the Section to enjoy. Another thank you to our local sponsors Rainbow, Peppermill, Montego Bay Hotels and Casinos.

Full Results

Tournament Photos

The Utah Section PGA is excited to announce that Jared Barnes has been selected as the next District 9 Director representing the Utah Section PGA.

District 9 which includes Utah, Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Sections is 1 of 14 Districts represented on a national level with The Professional Golfers Association of America.  District Directors are selected from past presidents that have served their sections in the past as an officer.

The Utah Section was extremely fortunate to have 4 strong candidates that offered to serve the Utah Section in this position. Jared Barnes, Colby Cowan, Chris Stover and Ryan Kartchner all stepped up and offered to once again serve the Utah PGA and the members. After going through the selection process with the Board of Directors Jared Barnes was selected as the next District 9 Director. All 4 candidates were extremely qualified and we thank them for their continued service to the Utah Section membership.

Jared served on a couple different national committees when he was Utah Section President and has a great reputation on a national level. We are excited to have Jared as our representative and will look forward to him making a difference for the members of the Utah PGA and District 9. Jared made this comment about his selection “I’m equal parts excited and humbled for this opportunity. I look forward to getting back to serving our section, district and our association.”

Good luck to Jared in this position and thank you for your willingness to serve the PGA.

The Utah Section PGA constantly strives to provide a better experience for PGA Professionals and the golfing community of Utah. Whether that’s through professional events offered around the state, accessible junior golf programs, bettering the communities in which we live, and now, a new UtahPGA.com.

“The Utah PGA is excited to launch a new website this week,” Executive Director Devin Dehlin said. “The new look and features should make this a popular spot for PGA Professionals to find out what’s happening in Utah golf. We will also have new options for individual golf courses to promote local programs at your course. Make sure to go online and take a look!”

The new and improved website contains everything Section members and golfers are used to, plus a little extra, starting with a new look and design. With a simple, straight forward layout, it’ll be easier to find what you’re looking for and a little easier to look at, too.

A new feature on the homepage, thanks to partnering with Gigg, is our social media board. Anyone that uses #UtahPGA in a post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, has the opportunity to be featured on the homepage of UtahPGA.com.  This is a fun way for our website visitors to see how the PGA is impacting golfers throughout the state.

It is the mission of the Utah Section PGA to be a leader in promoting the enjoyment of and involvement in the game of golf. The Utah Section PGA seeks to be a strong and prominent organization within the golf community by providing quality programs and services to both PGA Members and others. The new UtahPGA.com will be a great aid in helping the Section accomplish this mission.

To Section members, thank you for all you do for golf in Utah and for the Utah Section PGA. We hope you enjoy the new UtahPGA.com.