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The Championship Course at University of New Mexico Set to Host the 53rd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship

Federal Way, Wash. – The 7,248-yard, par-72 Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque will host the world’s most accomplished amateur golfers for the 53rd installment of the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.

The 53rd Pacific Coast Amateur Championship, hosted by the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association (SCAGA), will take place July 23-26, 2019. This will be the first time in history that the Pacific Coast Amateur will be played in New Mexico.

“The Sun Country Amateur Golf Association is honored to be the host association for this year’s championship,” said Dana Lehner, executive director of the SCAGA. “We’re no stranger to elite competition and know that the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course will provide a phenomenal test for the best amateur players from around the world that flock to the Pacific Coast Amateur. The Land of Enchantment stands at the ready to play host to what is one of the premier amateur championships on the calendar.”

The Pacific Coast Amateur routinely attracts players from around the world with resumés boasting illustrious victories in other jewel amateur golf events, and it remains the West Coast’s elite level event that is circled on all amateur golf calendars in North America and around the globe. The Pacific Coast Amateur has regularly received an “A” strength ranking by the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), provided by the R&A and USGA.

Most recent champions include Aaron Wise of Lake Elsinore, Calif. (2015), Will Zalatoris of Plano, Tex. (2016), Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill. (2017), and Isaiah Salinda of San Francisco, Calif. (2018).

In 2018, Isaiah Salinda held off one of amateur golf’s most competitive fields to capture the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club – Lake Course. The highlight of the week was in the third round when Salinda made birdie on more than half of his holes, posting a new competitive course record of nine under par 62. Salinda went on to be a semifinalist in the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

Much of the recent success of the event can be directly attributed to the quality of the venue. “The nationally recognized Championship Course at the University of New Mexico will flash its versatility and do its part in identifying the best player as champion,” said Troy Andrew, executive director of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. “The quality of our field and our ability to continuously recruit the game’s best amateurs is directly attributed to the reputation and quality of the venue selected to host.”

The Championship Course at the University of New Mexico has been nationally recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top-25 public courses in the country. It has been the site of numerous regional and national NCAA championships, including several Division I Men’s Golf Championships. The Championship Course has also been the home to the William H. Tucker Invitational (second-longest running college tournament), and in 2018 it hosted the 64th incarnation of the event. The course has also been home to a few Western Athletic Conference Men’s Championships.

“It is our honor and privilege to serve as the site of the 2019 Pacific Coast Amateur Championship,” stated Adam Roybal, general manager and PGA Professional of University of New Mexico golf courses. “We are accustomed to hosting elite amateur championships and are proud to showcase our nationally recognized facility. We are confident the Championship Course at UNM will provide a great test to the top-ranked amateurs from around the world.”

Past host sites for the event include The OIympic Club last year, Eugene Country Club (which also served as host site of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship), as well as Chambers Bay, Bandon Dunes and Martis Camp to name a few.

For more information leading up to the championship in July, please visit www.pacificcoastamateur.com

ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE AT UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Since it was officially opened in 1967, The Championship Golf Course has been one of the finest facilities of its kind nationwide. It has been nationally recognized by Golf Digest as one of the top-25 public courses in the country, and in January of 1991 Golfweek rated all public and private courses in the country by state, and dubbed The Championship Course the No. 1 course to play in New Mexico. In 1998, Golfweek tabbed The Championship Course No. 2 in the West, behind only the Stanford University Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. The Championship Course is no stranger to major tournaments. It was the site of the 1950, 1976 and 1992 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships as well as the 1998 NCAA Championships. In 1987 the course was the sight of the women’s NCAA championship. More information can be found by visiting https://unmgolf.unm.edu/

ABOUT THE PACIFIC COAST GOLF ASSOCIATION
The Pacific Coast Amateur Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious amateur golf championships in North America. The first tournament was held on the links of San Francisco Golf Club at The Presidio in 1901. After being played until 1911, The Pacific Coast Amateur then ceased to exist, only to be reconstituted at Seattle Golf Club in 1967. Today, 15 member Pacific Rim golf associations comprise the Pacific Coast Golf Association. More information about the association and the Pacific Coast Amateur can be found at www.pacificcoastamateur.com

Media requests, please contact:

Vinny Fiorino
Media for Pacific Coast Amateur
[email protected]
253-214-2922
@pacificcoastam | #PacCoastAm
www.pacificcoastamateur.com

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UGA sweeps podium at Southwest Team Challenge

Millcreek, UT – Sitting on the banks of Lake Las Vegas, Southwest Team Challengers looked on as the Utah Golf Association figuratively claimed gold, silver and bronze.

Just on the northern outskirts of Henderson, Nevada, Reflection Bay Golf Club hosted eleven teams on Dec. 2-5 from across the country for the 2018 Southwest Team Challenge. Put together and ran by the Arizona Golf Association, players – both at large and senior – competed in a modified stableford format for bragging rights. After three highly competitive rounds, UGA Team 2 – Ryan Brimley, Darrin Overson, Randy Hicken and Ron Davis – claimed the coveted trophy by finishing with a tournament high, 48 points. UGA Team 3 finished in second place with 42 points, while UGA Team 1 finished in third with 41 points.

Easton Folster, Director of Rules and Competitions for the UGA, said: “I think it is a great event for some of our most competitive players that not only support UGA events, but also other amateur events throughout the state.  This was the first year it has ever been at Reflection Bay and I thought they did a fantastic job.  The course was in great shape all week and I think the players really enjoyed being out there.  My main hope is that this event continues to be a yearly reward for having played great golf throughout the year.”

Creating a demand for hit fairways and solid putting, Reflection Bay Golf Club posed as much of a challenge as it could for some of the top amateur players around this part of the country. With weather fluctuating each day, players experienced three different versions from the high-end resort course.

With day one and three providing descent scoring conditions, UGA Team 2 capitalized on each chance they got – scoring 18 points on day one and 25 points on day two. Dropping in 10 birdies on each of those two days, plus two eagles during the final round, the victors demonstrated they were the team to beat.

“I think this type of format, having a golf course that you can score on, is a little bit more fun,” Overson said when comparing Reflection Bay GC to past venues.

Day two proved to be the anomaly for each team, especially the winners – having only posted a total of 5 points. Dealing with colder than normal temperatures and wind speeds of around 20 mph, Overson, Brimley, Hicken and Davis were left trying to salvage pars instead of shooting for flagsticks.

“There were definitely some challenging holes, for sure,” Overson stated. “A couple of days when the wind was blowing a little bit, made some of those holes very difficult. The second day was way harder than any other day we played.”

Giving credit when credit is due, Overson said it was the strong and consistent play of Hicken and Davis, which helped keep the team afloat on a day that could have easily swept them sideways and out of contention.

“The second day, the seniors definitely held their own,” Overson said. “[Then], those guys cleaned house the last day.”

With golf in northern Utah hard to come by in the winter months, this tournament provided players a chance to get in one last event with fun, friendly competition.

By sweeping the podium, the UGA teams showed that amateur golf in Utah is strong and a force to be reckoned with.

CLICK HERE for complete results.

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Ryan Tripp: It’s never too late to start

 

By Beaux Yenchik, UGA Intern

 

Have you ever had an itch? I’m talking about an itch that won’t go away no matter how hard you try. It could be from a mosquito bite or your skin in the final repairing stages of a sunburn. Whatever it is, don’t you try everything you possibly can to get rid of it?

Well, have you ever been bitten by the golf bug? Man, does it produce a nasty itch. For those of you who have, you can testify that it makes one go berserk when it comes to golf and everything about it. It drives us to buying the newest and coolest clubs on the market. Hours are spent glued to the television because of it – watching as the Golf Channel shows Brooks Koepka’s 12-inch divot take off after impact in slow motion. It even drives us to the No. 1 tee before the first rays of sunlight become visible.

A bit of an insane lifestyle, right? Never really seeking for a permanent cure. Well, if you ask Ryan Tripp – our next, lucky spotlight contestant – that question, he’d be sure to tell you he’d have it no other way.

Tripp stated, “As people say they got bit by the golf bug, I definitely did.”

Golf was never really a part of Tripp’s life until the last five or six years. Sure, he had the occasional trip growing up from Parowan with his buddies down to Cedar City to whack a few balls at the driving range, but it wasn’t something you would define as golfing.

“We probably spent most of our time doing Happy Gilmores,” Tripp said.

All Tripp cared about in Parowan – his hometown – was basketball. In fact, shooting hoops was the sport within his childhood home. Tripp stuck to the hardwood through his first year of college where he played as a freshman at Southern Virginia University before going on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Anaheim, California.

“Always grew up being active, playing sports,” Tripp said. “Basketball primarily. [I] played a little baseball [and] ran cross-country in high school. So, I was always active and just enjoyed being out and about …”

Upon returning home from his mission, Tripp transferred universities and attended the University of Utah where he earned a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication and his MBA from Weber State University.

However, Tripp’s childhood wasn’t defined by basketball but by a desire to help raise the funds necessary to save the life of little Whitnie Pender – a baby girl from a neighboring town who was in desperate need of a liver transplant.

With the motivation to raise as much funds as he could, 14-year-old Tripp set out for the 3,116-mile trip across America. The catch, however, was Tripp had to make the journey across the country traveling at 10 mph on a lawn mower – hoping to set a new mark in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for the farthest distance traveled on a lawn mower.

Tripp’s grandparents and father accompanied the soon-to-be world record holder on his journey – making the 42-day journey to cut the lawn at Capitol Hill in Washington D. C. – raising a total donation sum of $15,000. Tripp got to talk about his story to countless news outlets, including shows hosted by individuals such as David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey. (Tripp also broke another world record just a short time later by mowing every state capital’s lawn in a total of 69 days.)

“Aside from the Guinness World Record on a lawn mower, my upbringing and my childhood was pretty normal, I guess,” Tripp said with a chuckle.

Now working for Ride Systems as the Marketing and Sales Director and as an adjunct professor at WSU, Tripp maintains a busy schedule with work and home life – having four children of his own with his wife, Shannon.

Yet, among such a schedule, Tripp scratches the golfing itch in whatever way he can – possibly trying to play some sort of catch-up game for all the years he thinks he has missed out on.

Golf didn’t become a passion of his until he started playing in work tournaments. After having the time of his life at his first scramble, life was never the same. (His wife would probably say the same thing.) For him, ever since his first round, golf has become his happy place: spiritually, physically and mentally.

“Once I got into a professional career and I started working in healthcare, we would have a couple work scrambles throughout the summer and I got invited to participate in those,” Tripp said. “That is when I saw how fun golf can be and started getting serious about it. Honestly, from the first time I played in a work tournament, I had a blast.”

Tripp, you could say, would be the golf equipment connoisseur of Utah. Not discrediting anyone who knows a lot about golf equipment, but Tripp’s guilty pleasure might be his obsession with finding out as much as he can about products and then finding the right stuff for him. I’d even go as far as calling him the Bryson DeChambeau of club combos. (Check out his What’s in the Bag? graphic on our Instagram page if you want to see what I mean.)

Tripp said: “I go nuts over golf equipment. It is horrible for my game because I am constantly switching out equipment.”

When he isn’t playing Round Valley Golf Course or submersed in the latest Golf Digest’s Hot List issue, Tripp can often be found making drone videos over courses he’s played – like Sand Hollow Resort or Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas – or attempting to play four 18-hole rounds at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on the day of summer solstice.

For someone who would still be called newish to the game, Tripp’s adventurous journey doesn’t stop there. Tripp and his buddy, Andy Lawson, are two-time winners of the Topgolf Tour Championship Qualifier in Salt Lake City (2016 & 2018), which advanced the duo to compete in Las Vegas for a $50,000 grand prize – eventually losing to former tour professionals and lower-handicap players.

“That was really my first kind of big golf accomplishment,” Tripp said.

Tripp recalls when he didn’t make it in 2017, and the desperation road trip he and Lawson endeavored on in attempt to make it back to Vegas. After losing a close match in Salt Lake, the two immediately drove to Portland for a qualifier the next day. Losing there, the two then headed east to Denver with hopes of success on their third attempt. With no such luck, the two journeymen started gaining recognition and were flown out by Travelocity for one final attempt in Austin to qualify. No success.

Though golf has primarily been Tripp’s thing, he still holds out for the future with hope that his children will want to play the game he has come to love. Now and again, Tripp will bring his children to the course – Morgan is a small town and Round Valley is never extremely busy – while his wife is working.

Because he didn’t have the chance of playing a lot of golf with his dad growing up, Tripp wants to provide that opportunity for his kids. Yet, if they don’t choose golf, basketball will still be a viable option for them – Shannon Tripp played collegiate basketball, too.

Outside of spending time at the course, Tripp enjoys any and all chances he to be with his family. He spends time at gymnastic meets, ballet recitals, etc. You name it, his kids are probably doing it.

Ryan, thank you for demonstrating that golf is for anyone in any stage of life, and that it can be and mean whatever we would like it to be.

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Utah Golf Hall of Famer Bill Johnston Inducted into Arizona Golf Hall of Fame

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Utah Golf Legend Gene Schneiter Passes at 86 years of age

Courtesy: Standard Examiner

 

July 22, 1932 ~ November 27, 2018

Gene Schneiter, 86, of St. George, Utah passed away peacefully of natural causes with his wife Judith by his side November 27, 2018.

Gene was born July 22, 1932, in Ogden, Utah to Mildred and Ernie Schneiter Sr. He was raised on the golf course where he developed the character traits that made him so successful in life. He graduated from Weber High School and attended Utah State University on a golf scholarship. He was a proud Aggie his whole life.

Gene lived for golf, dreamed of golf, and dedicated his life as an ambassador for the sport. He started his professional career in golf course maintenance, transitioning to Red Hills Golf Course in St. George as its first golf professional-a course he and his father built. A few years later as Bloomington Country Club was being developed, Gene returned to his love of golf course maintenance, going on to develop and help build many of the courses in the St. George area. He was widely recognized for his expertise as a golf course superintendent. His life’s work was dedicated to creating and expertly maintaining beautiful places for others to enjoy.

The tranquility of the golf course accompanied him as a loving and devoted husband to his wife, Judith; and blessed all those who knew him as a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend.

Gene was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved his ward family and especially enjoyed being a home teacher. He was a friend to all and made lasting connections easily.

Celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year, he is survived by his wife Judith; children Jeff (Joan) Schneiter, Barbara (Ken) Holt, Greg Schneiter, Lynette (Eric) Schloer, Terry Schneiter, twelve grandchildren, and ten great- grandchildren who loved their papa.

Gene is also survived by his siblings, Ernie Jr. (Ardell), Colleen (Dean) Randall, and Carolyn (Neil) Thornton, along with many nieces and nephews he loved.

Funeral services will be held Monday, December 3, 2018, at 11:00 a.m. at the Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 South Bluff Street, St. George, Utah (435) 673-2454. A viewing will be held at the Spilsbury Mortuary from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 2, 2018, and again Monday, before the funeral from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Interment in the St. George City Cemetery.

Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, (435) 673-2454.

Friends and family are invited to sign Gene’s online guestbook at:www.spilsburymortuary.com