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UGA, UJGA Partner Together To Help Junior Golfers Qualify for Utah State Amateur
By Beaux Yenchik, UGA Intern
Millcreek, UT – It was a first for Utah golf as the Utah Golf Association teamed up with the Utah Junior Golf Association for a test-run of the initial Utah State Amateur Junior Qualifier.
On what was an extremely windy day at Bloomington Country Club – a proven test for any golfer on the nearly 7,000-yard venue – 57 junior golfers hit the links with hopes of finishing within the top 14. As players maneuvered around the course, approach shots struggled to hold the greens. Jaren Calkins (Lander, WY) mastered his fast-paced putts in route to shooting a 1-over-par 73 – three shots clear of second place finisher, Lucas Schone (Washington, UT).
Junior golfers – each meeting the requirement of having a 9.9 handicap or better – traveled from across the state, including Calkins from Wyoming, to the paradise of southern Utah. Each golfer and parent expressed sincere enthusiasm in the opportunity to qualify for the world’s oldest-continuous tournament.
The UJGA served as the main-operating body for the qualifier while the UGA’s Executive Director Jacob Miller participated as a rules official for the tournament. Miller said he would consider this trial run as a success.
“The first year having a UJGA or junior-specific qualifier was highly successful,” Miller said. “I would expect in the future that those junior qualifiers will continue to rise in the number of entries and continue to tract the best juniors in the state to try to compete.”
The qualifier awarded the top 14 with exemptions into the Utah State Amateur.
Congratulations to those who qualified. We wish them the best of luck in the Utah State Amateur.
PLACE
PLAYER
HOME TOWN
TO PAR
SCORE
1
Jaren Calkins
2021, Lander, WY
1
F
73
2
Lucas Schone
2021, Washington, UT
4
F
76
T3
Zack Neff
2019, Salt Lake City, UT
5
F
77
T3
Hunter Howe
2018, Ogden, UT
5
F
77
T3
Jack Sargent
2021, Fruit Heights, UT
5
F
77
T3
Matthew Millburn
2019, Morgan, UT
5
F
77
T7
Ty Felts
2020, Draper, UT
6
F
78
T7
Gabe Schino
2020, Draper, UT
6
F
78
T7
Phillip Platt
2019, Highland Utah
6
F
78
T7
Sean Lam
2022, Taylorsville, UT
6
F
78
T7
Triston Gardner
2018, Ivins, UT
6
F
78
T7
Parker Reese
2021, Alpine, Utah
6
F
78
T7
Tyson Shelley
2021, Salt Lake City, UT
6
F
78
14
Simon Kwon
2021, Salt Lake City, UT
7
F
79