Life has changed dramatically for Grant Waite since he won last week's Kemper Open.
The New Zealand native, who has made his home in Sandy the last couple of years, has been besieged by phone calls and requests since last Sunday.The first night he got back from Maryland, he was on the phone for four hours straight. Thanks to call-waiting he never even had a chance to hang up. He's been interviewed by the local television stations this week while he's stayed home a week from the PGA Tour.
Waite first came to the attention of local golf fans last summer when he won the University Hospital-Utah Open. It turned out he had been living in the Sandy area for nearly a year already. His wife, Lea, is based in Salt Lake as a flight attendant.
Waite says he is making every effort to return to this year's Utah Open, which will be played Aug. 6-8 at Willow Creek. Last year he said he would definitely come back unless the Utah Open was opposite the PGA and he was invited to play in that. Well, the PGA isn't until the week after and he would have to miss the Buick Open to play in Utah.
"I think after you win a tournament it's important to come back the next year," he said.
After winning $234,000 last week, Waite can certainly afford to stay home for a week this August. And he might just win another $20,000.
LOCAL SUCCESS: Waite wasn't the only golfer with local ties to win a national tournament last week.
Val Skinner captured the Lady Keystone LPGA event at Hershey, Pa., the same day Waite was winning the Kemper.
Skinner's claim to Utah is somewhat nebulous. She lived in the Smithfield area for a short time as a youngster before moving away. But she was proud enough of her time spent in the state that she returned a phone call to the Deseret News a few years ago and said she's like to be considered with the other local golfers playing the tours.
ALL-STATERS: The high school all-state golf teams were honored at a banquet Friday night at the Marriott Hotel.
The 4A selectees were Highland's Corey Badger, Weber's Wyatt Burton, Layton's Steve Day, Bingham's Dustin Dehlin, Davis' Mike Jacks, Roy's J.D. Larsen, Skyline's Troy Lashley, Brighton's Kevin Mansell and Bingham's Tom Winchester.
In 3A, the all-state selections were Dixie's Noah Backman, Cedar City's McKay Barnes and Mike Evans, Mountain Crest's Casey Beck and Kevin Blotter, Bountiful's Scott Hailes, Logan's Mitch Harris, Woods Cross' Shaun Jepsen and Box Elder's Kyle Wright.
The 1A-2A team consisted of Park City's Greg Boyle, Clint Christensen and Braden Usher, Wendover's Brian Emerson, Richfield's Ryan Oldroyd, Monticello's Kelly Pehrson and Grand County's David York.
STRAY SHOTS: Dennis Walters, a paraplegic golfer who does golf clinics all over the country, will be at Rose Park Golf Course at 10 a.m. for the Smith's Food Clubs For Kids Clinic. After his demonstration, clubs will be given out to all the kids in attendance . . . Jeff Smith, the head professional at Golf City has been named as the head golf coach of the Weber State women's golf team, which is being resurrected after being dropped several years ago. Mac Madsen will continue as the men's coach . . . Craig Norman, who has been an assistant pro at Riverside CC, is moving to Hobble Creek for a similar job. He will be replaced by Kent McComb, who is moving up from the St. George Golf Club . . . The First Security Open at Tri City, which has traditionally been played the second weekend of May, will be played next week, June 4-6. Other tournaments next week include State Am qualifiers at East Bay on Wednesday and Bloomington on Friday . . . The annual Bobby Reeves Memorial Golf Tournament will be played at Glenmoor Golf Course June 11. Call 255-1742 or 269-1315 . . . The 16th annual Open Heart Open will be played June 14 at Jeremy Ranch. Call 322-5601 for information . . . The March of Dimes Celebrity Golf Classic will be July 27 at Park Meadows. Registration deadline is July 9. Call 363-5500 . . . The deadline for the USGA Public Links Tournament is June 2. The qualifier will be June 21 at Davis Park.