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Utah Senior State Am: John Owen is a medalist; Shane McMillan hustles home to tie for 2nd
Shane McMillan was so worn down by the challenging conditions and travel logistics of the U.S. Senior Amateur in Tennessee that he considered withdrawing from the Utah State Senior Amateur Championship.
He kept his Monday tee time at Hill Air Force Base’s Hubbard Memorial Golf Course, though. And he got better as the stroke-play round went along. McMillan’s 1-under-par 71 was good for a tie for second place in the stroke-play portion of the 31st annual tournament.
John Owen (photo above), who was a State Amateur semifinalist in 2022 at age 49, birdied two of the last three holes to become the medalist by one stroke over McMillan, Matthew Lyons and Brett Christiansen.
With pre-qualifying required just to get to Hubbard, Monday’s starting fields were reduced only from 48 to 32 (Senior), 24 to 16 (Super-Senior, 60-over) and 12 to eight (Legends, 70-over).
Match play begins Tuesday with two rounds in the Senior division and one each in the other age groups. The final matches in every category are scheduled Thursday morning.
McMillan is the Utah Golf Association’s two-time Senior Men’s Player of the Year and was the runner-up to Brigham Gibbs last August in the Senior State Am. He shot 78-83 in the U.S. Senior Am at The Honors Course in Tennessee, numbers that merit some explanation. McMillan missed the cut to match play but by only four strokes; the score needed to advance was the highest in 24 years.
Due to an afternoon starting time Sunday, McMillan missed his scheduled flight home from Chattanooga. After a two-hour drive, he caught the last flight from Atlanta and arrived home at about 2 a.m.
“I almost called this morning to withdraw because I was physically and mentally exhausted,” McMillan said. “I was pretty disappointed to not make the cut back there, so it felt good to shoot under par today.”
Gibbs, who won the Utah Senior Stroke Play Championship in May, tied for 19th place with a 76. Four players advanced from a five-way playoff at 78: Scott Van Orden, Scott Tye, Jose Valle and Chuck O’Brien.
SUPER-SENIORS
Craig Wilson celebrates on of eight birdies on the day at Hubbard Golf Club.
Defending champion Craig Wilson’s 65, featuring eight birdies on a 6,500-yard setup, gave him medalist honors by three strokes over Rick Lloyd. Mike Holm and Mark Gardiner, the division winner in the Senior Stroke Play, tied for third at 69. Randy Hicken, the reigning Super-Senior Player of the Year, placed fifth at 71.
A 5-for-3 playoff among golfers who shot 77 completed the bracket. John Harris, Paul Cannon and Scott Benson advanced.
LEGENDS
Larry Beech was a runner-up in the Super-Senior division in 2021. Now playing in the Legends division, he posted a 72 for medalist honors by one shot over defending champion Doug Marriott.
David Fischer (74) and Jesse Needles (75) also earned top-four seeds and Utah Golf Hall of Fame member Todd Barker advanced with a 77. A 2-for-1 playoff determined the last spot in the bracket.Charlie Davis grabbed it after posting a 78.
Click here for the Utah Senior State Amateur stroke play qualifying results.
Stroke play qualifying feature written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. All photos by Fairways Media/Garrit Johnson.