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Shane McMillan Holds On at Mountain Dell

After all the twists and turns in the final match of the 33rd Utah Senior State Amateur Championship, the biggest surprise was that a routine par ended the duel.

Afterward, Shane McMillan seemed more shocked than anyone else after the way he steadied himself Thursday, amid the volatility of his eventual 1-up victory over Matt Seppanen at Mountain Dell Golf Course.

33rd Utah Senior State Amateur champion, Shane McMillan.

In a contest between financial planners, let’s label what happened as a stock market correction, followed by more ups and downs. McMillan was 4 up through seven holes, then Seppanen won four of the next seven holes to pull even. Through all the upheaval, McMillan never trailed. He won No. 15, lost No. 16 to a birdie, won No. 17 by executing a tricky chip to save par and played No. 18 solidly to earn the trophy and experience a feeling he described as “pure joy, just excitement; it’s hard to believe.”

He’s a two-time Senior Men’s Player of the Year (2022 and ‘23) in the Utah Golf Association, but winning a significant senior tournament meant everything to him. “It’s magical,” said McMillan, 57, who lives in Bountiful and played one year of golf for Utah State. His best years in the game have come in his 50s.

Runner-up, Matt Seppanen

His opponent was a Northwestern University teammate of veteran pro golfer Luke Donald and chased pro golf himself for a while before settling into a financial career. “My Northwestern Wildcat game is 30 years old. So that was balata balls and persimmon woods and forged irons,” said Seppanen, 50. “It’s just good to be out competing again, honestly. .. I tried to push him as much as I could, after the start I got off to.”

Seppanen, who works in Park City and is a Glenwild Golf Club member, certainly made McMillan work for the win. McMillan won a Senior title with Matthew Lyons in the 2023 Utah Four-Ball Championship, after losing to Brigham Gibbs in the Senior State Am final that summer.

In becoming a UGA individual winner,  “I went through a lot of emotions out there,” McMillan said.

When he suddenly was tied after 14 holes, he said, “I’m like, ‘Things aren’t going well. This is what you want to avoid.’ But I hung in there and made some really good shots coming in.”

SUPER-SENIORS

If there’s a Big Four in Utah Super-Senior (60-over) golf, Guy Child and Dan Dent teamed up to beat the whole foursome at Mountain Dell. Child knocked off Rick Lloyd and Mike Jorgensen; Dent took out defending champion Mark Gardiner and two-time Player of the Year Randy Hicken.

So either of them was going to be a deserving champion. That turned out to be Child, thanks to a winning par on No. 18 for a 1-up victory. Dent had won the par-3 No. 17 with a par, tying the match.

2026 Super Senior State Amateur champion, Guy Child.

Child, a Price resident, is back in Utah after living in Oklahoma for four-plus years. “It doesn’t get any better than golf (competition) In Utah,” he said. “To beat the quality of players that come out and play in UGA events, you’ve done something.”

Child earned the No. 7 seed in the 16-golfer bracket. “It was crazy how good I was hitting it,” he said, “and I couldn’t get any putts to go in.” Entering match play, he told himself, “Keep hitting it solid, because it frustrates people when you’re hitting it that good.”

He added, “Pars win a lot of matches, as we just proved.”

Child’s first UGA title came in the Senior division of the Utah Four-Ball Championship with the late Kurt Jamison as his partner.

Dent, 60, is a former director of Salt Lake City Golf. He returned to tournament play after a long absence and made a remarkable run of his own. Dent beat Keith McLaughlin, Gardiner and Hicken without having to play No. 18, which he bogeyed in the final match.

LEGENDS

Dan Parkinson’s extended family can claim a remarkable distinction in the Utah golf season of 2026, with important victories at each end of the age scale.

Parkinson earned the Legends (70-over) title at Mountain Dell with a 5-and-3 victory over Rob Martin. His win came a couple of months after he caddied his grandson, Jakoby Jones, to a victory in the Boys 10-under division of the Utah State Junior Amateur, conducted by the Utah Junior Golf Association,

Legends division champion, Dan Parkinson.

Parkinson delivered the best ending of the three final matches, chipping in for a birdie on the par-4 No. 15. The irony is that shot came after he was prematurely declared the winner on the previous green, while actually being 4 up with four holes to play.

At that point, Parkinson said, “I thought, ‘There’s no way I’m winning, I’m jinxed.’ “ But he ended up winning by a bigger margin, thanks to the clinching chip. “I just hit it perfect; couldn’t have been better.”

Parkinson won a Super-Senior title in 2019 at Talisker Golf Club, before losing to Craig Wilson in the 2023 final at Alpine Country Club, his home course.

Feature story written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media art director Garrit Johnson.