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Ogden, Palmer, Probst Win UGA Winterchamps Titles

Southern Utah University golfer Sadie Palmer couldn’t match her opening round 3-under 68 (46 points) but Sunday’s final round three-over par 76 (35 points) at Sunbrook Golf Course was good enough to keep her comfortably in the lead as she captured the Women’s Championship Flight of the 2012 Utah Golf Association WinterChamps tournament.
“It was a little bit more of a struggle today, I grinded pretty hard and feel pretty good about my round,” explained Palmer who is in the midst of a red shirt year at SUU. “My putting and my mental game really were the keys to the round.”
Palmer hasn’t played much golf since an injury to her foot has kept her off the golf course. This is the first win at WinterChamps for Palmer who is looking to play in more amateur events this year since she won’t be competing for SUU this golf season. Palmer had six birdies at Bloomington Country Club on Saturday and just two bogeys. At Sunbrook Palmer had only two birdies as well as one bogey but also had two double bogeys.
Palmer was six points better than Karen Killpack who was the low Women’s Senior Amateur came in second with 75 points, followed by juniors Sirene Blair (74) and Naomi Suifoa (73).
In the Senior Championship Flight Bill Probst credited some late night hotel-room putting as the key to his final round 1-under 71 at Sunbrook. Probst’s 5 birdies pushed him past Patrick Murphy (78 points) and first round leader Todd Barker (76). Probst finished with a two-day total of 80 points as he captured the Senior Championship Flight for the second time in the last three years.
“I missed a lot of birdies during the first round at Bloomington,” said Probst. “I got back to the hotel room and started putting a little bit and figured out that I needed to move my ball position a little bit. I putted much better today.”
In the Men’s Championship Flight BYU golfer Cole Ogden held on to his first round lead battling cold, windy and snowy weather as well as Jon Wright and Nathan Wunderli.
“That was one of the coldest rounds of golf I’ve ever played. It hailed, snowed, rained and we had a consistent wind the whole round.”
Ogden followed his opening round 3-under 68 (48 points) at Sunbrook with a three-over 75 (36 points) at Sky Mt. Golf Course in Hurricane, Utah. Wright had a two-day total of 82 points while Wunderli scored 81 points.
Like Probst, Ogden credited solid putting as his key to claiming the top spot. “I’ve been going back and forth between conventional and cross handed grips. Today I used cross handed and my putting was solid.”
The annual WinterChamps tournament was contested this year at Bloomington Country Club, Sunbrook Golf Course and Sky Mt. Golf Course using the Modified Stableford Scoring. The UGA staff appreciates the professional assistance of Utah Section PGA members Scott Brandt, Reed McArthur and Kent Abbeglen. Final results for all flights can be found online at: https://ghintpp.com/uga/TPPOnlineScoring/Results.aspx?ID=56
 
Men’s Division
84- Cole Ogden, 48-36
82- Jon Wright, 43-39
81- Nathan Wunderli, 39-42
74- Kirk Siddens, 34-40
72- Darrin Overson, 33-39
68- Derek Fox, 37-31
66- Dan Horner, 37-29
64- Jed Rammell, 30-34
64- Nick Smart, 26-38
62- Andrew Barton, 33-29
 
Women’s Division
81- Sadie Palmer, 46-35
75- Karen Killpack, 36-39
74- Sirene Blair, 38-36
73- Naomi Soifua, 38-35
65- Annette Gaiotti, 33-32
 
Senior Division
80- Bill Probst, 38-42
78- Pat Murphy, 44-34
76- Todd Barker, 45-31
73- Steve Poulson, 38-35
70- Brent Marriott, 37-33
68- Bevan Killpack, 35-33
67- Rick Groendyke, 33-34
65- Brent Fenstermaker, 37-28
63- Rafe Johnston, 29-34
62- David Cannon, 32-30
62- Mike Hacker, 32-30