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Day 4 Utah State Amateur: Elite Eight Set as Match Play Drama Continues at Soldier Hollow

Day two of match play at the 128th Utah State Amateur produced a lot of birdies, and a lot of drama. At the end of the day, eight golfers were left standing, all with a chance to add their name to the prestigious Utah State Am trophy.

A strained back in the Round of 32 nearly doubles over 2013 champion Cole Ogden.

In the morning round, 32 golfers teed it up. 2013 champ Cole Ogden was one of them, but he struggled to actually get a tee in the ground. Ogden tweaked his back on the range Wednesday night, and could barely move. on Thursday  “I got about 30 minutes of sleep last night, and my wife had to help me out of bed,” groaned Ogden, talking and moving gingerly. He had to drop to one knee to mark his ball and every swing was painful for him, and painful to watch. “But it’s not in me to quit,” he said, and he pushed his opponent Jackson Mauss to the 18th hole before falling 2 and 1.

39 year old Steele Dewald was on fire in his morning round against Parker Bunn. Bunn made five birdies, but Dewald made nine birdies and won the match 3 and 2. He had enough time before his afternoon match to run home to Park City and change his socks.

“I got a tip a long time ago, if you’re playing 36 holes in a day, change your socks in between rounds. So I’ll do that and say a prayer I can keep it going,” he said.

David Liechty

He wasn’t able to do that. He lost to BYU transfer David Liechty 2 and 1 in the afternoon, a match that was close the entire time.

One of the more interesting matches in the morning round was Austin Shelley going up against Lincoln Markham. Markham returned from a church mission less than a month ago, and was pitted against his soon-to-be BYU teammate and roommate. They won back-to-back UGA Utah Junior State Amateur titles. It was another close match with Shelley prevailing 2 and 1.

Defending champion, Bowen Mauss

The Round of 16 matches were close as well. Besides Liechty’s win over Dewald, defending champion Bowen Mauss continued to look strong in defense of his title. Mauss beat Adian Thain 3 and 2. He got off to a hot start and cruised the win.

“I birdied six of my first eight holes in the afternoon,” said Mauss. “I only had one bogey in my two matches. My thing is hit fairways and greens, keep the pressure on. That won’t change for Friday. I try to get to the par 5’s in two and hope to make some putts.”

Jackson Mauss

His older brother Jackson also won his afternoon match to get into the quarterfinals. He knocked off former Ute golfer Brandon Robison , making a birdie on the par 5 17th hole and parring 18  to win 1-up.

KJ Ofahengaue

Other winners include Utah Tech University golfer KJ Ofahengaue, who edged Andrew Cottle 2 and 1. Carter Frisby from the University of Idaho beat Ty Brady 1-up. Kanyon DeRyke, an incoming freshman to the University of Providence in Great Falls Montana, beat Austin Shelley 2 and 1. Utah State golfer Noah Moody held off a late rally by Ammon Allred to win his match 1-up. And Cameron Crawford was 3 down with five holes to play against BYU’s Angus Klintworth. But Crawford birdied three of the last five holes to send the match to the 19th hole where Crawford won with a par.

288 golfers started this tournament on Monday. There are only eight left. The quarterfinals and semifinals come up on Friday.

Click here for complete bracket scoring of the 128th Utah State Amateur.

Day 4 recap feature written by Fairways Media contributor and recently retired ABC4 sports anchor Wesley Ruff. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson and Garrett Johnson.