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Fielding, Ogden Lead Utah Contingent at Web.com, But Trail by Five Shots
Dusty Fielding and Clay Ogden had the best first rounds of the six Utahns in the Web.com Utah Championship that began Thursday at Willow Creek Country Club, but their rounds of three under par 68 were only good for a 37th place standing. Joe Summerhays shot 70 and Derek Penman and Zach Johnson shot 71 and Zac Blair finished at 73.
The leaders in the tournament, Brian Pouty and C.J. Staten, shot 63. There were another four players at 64, another seven players at 65, another 12 players at 66, and 11 more players at 67.
C.J. Staten is a Tennesse native who now lives in Utah, near Willow Creek Country Club. He married his wife, Alisha, a Utah native, 20 months ago.Michael Putnam, a two-time winner this season and the Utah Championship winner in 2010, opened with a 2-under 69, tying him for 67th.First-Round NotesOfficials stopped play for a dangerous weather situation at 6 p.m. Play resumed at 6:20.Prior to his opening 63, Brian Prouty’s previous-best score this season was the 67 he shot in the first round of the Brasil Classic in April. That 67 was also his career-best.The first-round scoring average of 69.155 easily broke the tournament record of 69.808 set in 2008.Kevin Foley recorded the 24th ace in tournament history when he knocked his 7-iron shot into the hole at No. 5. There have been more holes-in-one at the Utah Championship than in any other Web.com Tour event in history. It was the first ace at the tournament since 2010 and the sixth hole-in-one on No. 5.Bogey-free rounds (11): First Round — Shane Bertsch, Paul Claxton, Jason Gore, Scott Harrington, Richard S. Johnson, Andy Pope, Alex Prugh, B.J. Staten, Matt Weibring, Ron Whittaker, Tim WilkinsonFour first-round leaders have gone on to win the Utah Championship, including the last two-J.J. Killeen (2011) and Doug LaBelle II (2012).The only Utah Championship winner not to shoot a round in the 60s in the first round is Arron Oberholser. He fired a 1-under 71 in 2002 when Willow Creek Country Club played to a par 72. Since 2007, the worst first-round score by a winner was Michael Putnam’s 66 in 2010.Shane Bertsch is making his 10th start in the event, and he’s played 11 Web.com Tour events in Utah, having played in the 1995 Utah Classic in Provo. Bertsch’s 6-under 65 Thursday was easily his career-low round at the Utah Championship. His previous best was a 67 in the second round in 2001.