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Utah Senior State Amateur: Stroke Play champions thrive in the qualifying round
Jeff Jolley, Jeff Powars and Doug Marriott emerged Monday as medalists of the stroke-play portion of the 30th Utah Senior State Amateur Championship at Alpine Country Club.
Occasionally, golf makes sense. Not quite four months ago, those three were the age-group winners of the Utah Senior Stroke Play Championship at Bountiful Ridge Golf Course.
Jolley’s 7-under-par 65, featuring seven birdies, an eagle on the par-5 No. 17 and two bogeys, made him the No. 1 seed for match play among the 32 golfers who advanced in the Senior division. Shane McMillan (69) and Zack Orton (72), who lost to Jolley in a playoff for the Stroke Play title, comfortably qualified. Other notable names in the bracket include defending champion Darren Kuhn (76), 2022 runner-up Brandon Hargett (72), 2021 champion Brigham Gibbs (73) and 2022 State Amateur semifinalist John Owen (70), who’s in his first year of senior eligibility.
A 5-for-3 playoff among golfers who shot 78 was staged to complete the bracket. Bob Mitchell, Scott Hyland and Alpine member Clark Jones claimed those three berths.
Powars shared Super Senior (60-over) medalist honors with Craig Wilson, a former Senior State Am champion, as 16 golfers advanced to match play. Paul Cannon won a playoff with Corey Ford on the second hole for the last spot in the bracket after they posted 78s. Richard Dibblee, the division’s runner-up each of the previous two years, missed the cut with an 80.
In the Legends (70-over) competition, Marriott took a two-stroke win over Dale Christensen, his top rival in the Stroke Play event. Tom Jones took the No. 8 seed with an 82, as no playoff was necessary.
Match play will begin Tuesday morning. Each division will stage an 18-hole championship match Thursday morning. Click here for match play brackets for all divisions.
Written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photo by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.