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Patrick Fishburn Wins UGA Men’s Player of the Year Honor

 

By Megan Terry, Programs Administrator

 

Patrick Fishburn, a junior on the Brigham Young University men’s golf team, has rightfully earned the title of 2016 UGA Men’s Player of the Year following his tremendous season. From carding 69-67 at the RCK Salt Lake City Amateur for the win to defeating Utah golf’s best of the best at the 118th Utah State Amateur Championship, Fishburn is the one to beat. And from the looks of it, he isn’t going anywhere.

Patrick was a four-time 1st Team All-State golfer and the 2010 Utah State High School Medalist as well as the starting point guard for three years at Fremont High School where he also was the 2011 Region 1 MVP and 1st Team All-State Point Guard. He was named the Utah State Junior Player of the Year in 2009, finishing third in the stroke play portion of the 2009 United States Junior Amateur at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey, just a few strokes behind eventual champion Jordan Spieth. Before starting his career at BYU, he won over 60 junior, amateur, state and national golf tournaments.

Fishburn was recruited by more than 20 Division I universities before choosing BYU and making his collegiate debut in 2011 at the William H. Tucker Invitational finishing in 31st place. After serving a two-year LDS mission in Nashville, TN, Patrick returned to BYU ready to compete as a sophomore and completed his 2015-16 season with three top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes. So far, his junior year has included top ten finishes in all five events, including a third-place finish at the Nick Watney Invitational and his first collegiate championship at the Pacific Invitational.

Fishburn fired rounds of 66 at Fox Hollow Golf Course and 70 at Alpine Country Club during the two-day stroke play portion of the 118th Utah State Amateur to qualify for match play as the No. 3 seed. He won his Round of 64 and Round of 32 matches 3 and 2 to advance to the Round of 16 to take on Tommy Forsman. Fishburn defeated Forsman 2 and 1 win to advance to the Quarterfinal against Carl Jensen.

Jensen was two up through three holes before Patrick answered with three birdies in a row to gain the advantage and go one up. He remained up the rest of the match and defeated Jensen 3 and 2. He then defeated Ryan Barber in his Semifinal round 3 and 2 to advance to the 36-hole Final against Aaron Smith.

Smith knocked nearly every approach shot within 20 feet of the flagstick and drained massive putts against Fishburn. Still, Patrick made 14 birdies on the day and finally earned his championship title on Alpine Country Club’s par-3 No. 16 by sticking his shot within three feet of the hole. Smith conceded the putt, and Patrick Fishburn was crowned the 118th Utah State Amateur Champion. Of note, through 16 holes of the final match, Fishburn was eight under par and Smith was four under par, an example of the extraordinary high level of play in that final match.

Fishburn’s additional accomplishments this past year have included victories at the Valley View and Birch Creek Amateurs, winning low amateur honors and a runner-up finish at the 2016 Provo Open. He also finished as the low amateur for the second year in a row and earned his second top-10 overall finish at the Utah Open, where he carded a course record-tying 62 during the opening round. Finally, he recently added to his list of six courses records by shooting a course record 60 at his home course and the home of the upcoming 2017 Utah State Amateur Championship, Ogden Golf and Country Club.

Fishburn’s junior season will continue in January when BYU kicks off the Spring 2017 season at Sewailo Golf Club in Tucson, AZ, for the Arizona Invitational. With a promising career ahead of him, it should be of no surprise when we see Patrick Fishburn topping Utah golf’s leaderboards.

 

The annual presentation of the 2016 UGA Player of the Year Awards will take place on Wednesday, January 18th at Alpine Country Club beginning at 6 p.m. Please RSVP by calling the UGA office at 801-563-0400 by Friday, January 13th at 4 p.m.