SARATOGA SPRINGS — Although 150 golfers played under mostly ideal conditions Saturday, not much changed at the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open golf tournament at TalonsCove Golf Course.
At least at the top of the leaderboard.
St. George's Nick McKinlay and Ogden's Jon Fister Jr., the unlikely co-leaders after Friday's first round, both fired 5-under 67s Saturday and stand at 133 going into today's final round.
They'll tee off at 11:30 a.m. along with Ryan Ellis, a former University of Utah golfer from Draper. Ellis, who is a regular on the Canadian Tour, shot a 6-under 66 and stands one shot behind at 134.
Garrett Clegg, a 25-year-old from Bountiful, and Riverside CC assistant Chris Moody also shot 66s Saturday and are another stroke back at 135, while Old Mill assistant Jeff Keye stands at 136 after a 69.
The cut came at 2-over par 146 with 66 players surviving to play today. The winner receives a check for $15,000 as well as an exemption into the Utah Nationwide Tour event in September.
The 29-year-old McKinlay is an apprentice who teaches at Coral Canyon near St. George, while Fister works at Mt. Ogden but isn't affiliated with the Utah Section.
In fact, the low-key 31-year-old said he may not even be a professional golfer that much longer.
"For all I know, this could be my last golf tournament as a professional," he said.
Fister said he has a child on the way and isn't sure of his plans for the future.
McKinlay grew up in Salt Lake and moved to Heber, where he went to high school before settling in St. George. He's had a non-descript golf career until the past few months, when his confidence has suddenly soared.
Last fall, he won the Assistants Championship and then just two weeks ago he captured the Salt Lake City Open, one of the bigger local tournaments.
McKinlay is not a big hitter, but he hits the ball straight and stays out of trouble and takes the birdies when they come. He's been trying to not put pressure on himself and remember golf "is just a game." He's enjoying himself this week.
"It could have been a lot better, but I'm not complaining," said McKinlay, who missed several birdie putts inside 10 feet. "The course played a lot easier today."
Fister, who has had a constant struggle with a bad back over the years, used a conservative approach for the second straight day, trying to stay out of trouble and taking advantage of the par-5s. He has hit 33 of 36 greens in regulation in two days and most of his birdies have come on two-putts on the par-5s.
"The key here is not to miss any greens," he said. "I kept it out of trouble and tried to hit a lot of greens. I have played pretty conservative and tried to be aggressive where you're supposed to."
A win by either McKinlay or Fister would be the biggest of his life, but neither is looking too far ahead.
"I'll just go out and play my best and whatever happens happens," McKinlay said. "I can't control what other people do."
"I'll just try to play the same way and see what happens," Fister said.
Ellis is playing the Canadian Tour for the third year and is coming off a seventh-place finish two weeks ago in Winnipeg.
He got off to a fast start with a birdie at the first hole and made eagle at the ninth hole to make the turn at 4-under. Birdies at 13 and 14 moved him to 6-under on the day.
"I just tried to stay patient and not be in a rush," he said. "I'll try to go as low as I can tomorrow."
Clegg, who played for the University of Utah, has been playing the Texas-Arkansas Tight Lies Tour. Last week he finished 17th at the Denver Open. Rather than play in the Colorado Open, he opted to come home to play in his home state's open, unlike a few Utah players who went to Colorado.
Last fall, Clegg got his name in the national news when he took the first-round lead at the Nationwide Tour event in Utah and was in contention until a poor final round.
"I wasn't playing that well earlier in the year, but I'm starting to play good golf now," Clegg said.
OPEN NOTES: Six senior pros earned money as part of a $3,025 Senior Side Bar Purse with Spanish Fork pro Roy Christensen getting the $750 first-place money for his 36-hole total of 140 . . . Tadd Cox is the low amateur after shooting a 66 for a 137 total. Carl Jensen is one shot behind . . . Defending champion Greg Buckway rallied to make the cut with a 68 Saturday, which put him at 143 . . . After shooting a 93 in Friday's first round, Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag was a no-show for Saturday's second round.
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