FARMINGTON — If there was any question about Clay Ogden being nervous holding a four-stroke lead heading into Sunday's final round of the Siegfried and Jensen Utah Open, it was quickly dispelled on the first hole.
Ogden made an eagle-3 at No. 1 to increase his lead and kept on going from there. By the end of the day, the 22-year-old pro earned $20,000, the biggest check of his young career, finishing with a three-stroke victory over Joseph Summerhays.
The former BYU golfer fired a final-round 66 for a three-round total of 197 after leading the whole way. He just missed the 54-hole tournament record of 196 set by current PGA Tour golfer Todd Fischer at Jeremy CC in 2000.
"It feels really good," said Ogden, as about two dozen friends and relatives crowded in the press room for the post-round news conference.
"I've been putting in a lot of work — I honestly think I've worked harder in the last two or three months than I ever have. I figured if I was stepping up to play professionally I better do it all day and work my butt off."
His hard work is certainly paying off. Since finishing his collegiate career in early June when he turned professional, Ogden has won four tournaments — the Salt Lake City Open and two events on the Butch Harmon Tour in Las Vegas in addition to his Sunday win — which adds up to close to $50,000.
"My putting's been the biggest improvement," Ogden said.
Throughout the tournament, Ogden consistently made putts in the 5- to 10-foot range for saves in addition to several birdie putts. On the back nine Sunday, Ogden got up and down for par at No. 10 and 14. He also chipped in for birdie from 25 feet at the par-5 11th hole after muffing his first chip from a few feet farther away.
Although he finished with a fairly comfortable win, he needed those shots to hold off the fast-closing Summerhays and Ryan Ellis.
The 35-year-old Summerhays, who lives nearby and is a member at Oakridge, put a 64 on the board, which would have tied the course record, if Ellis hadn't posted a nifty little 62 a few minutes earlier.
Ellis, a former University of Utah golfer from Draper finished third at 201, four shots behind Ogden, but an eight-shot deficit at the start of the day was too much to make up.
He made eagles at 1 and 11 to go with birdies at 6, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 17 and, surprisingly, didn't birdie the par-5 16th. He said he focused on each shot and didn't even think about a course record.
"I had no idea what it was," he said. "It didn't even cross my mind."
Summerhays might have posted a 62 and put more pressure on Ogden if he hadn't bogeyed No. 16. He had a bad lie on his drive and felt he had to go for the green in two but instead pulled in into the lake and took a penalty.
Although he finished second, his best-ever in the Utah Open, Summerhays said he's likely to quit playing competitive golf.
"I'm probably not going to pursue this golf career any more," he said. "I just had my fifth child, and I'm going to give it a rest."
He has several options, including helping his father, Bruce, with his golf design business or his brother, Bruce Jr., at a new golf course his father designed near Hurricane.
Summerhays had finished with a flourish, making two long birdie putts at 17 and 18 to get to 16 under par. When Ogden got to the 18th tee, he noticed his lead had been cut to two.
After putting his tee shot in the middle of the fairway, he stuck his pitching wedge from 130 yards to within 3 feet and made the birdie to put a punctuation mark on his victory.
"It worked out perfectly," he said.
As good as winning the Utah Open is, Ogden can't say it's his biggest thrill in golf. He had an even bigger victory two years ago when he won the U.S. Public Links tournament and earned an invitation to play in the Masters.
Ogden hopes to qualify for the EnergySolutions Nationwide event in two weeks at Willow Creek CC and perhaps play in subsequent tournaments in Oregon, Boise and California.
"I've been really fortunate," he said. "I've had a really good start to my professional career."
OPEN NOTES:Dan Horner won amateur honors with a 207 total, two ahead of Scott Clark ... Garrett Clegg and Doug Garwood tied for fourth at 203 and Ryan Rhees and Todd Tanner tied for sixth at 204 ... Three golfers with PGA or Nationwide Tour experience didn't fare so well. Boyd Summerhays tied for 18th at 210, while longtime PGA Tour regular Jay Don Blake and former Nationwide player Steve Schneiter tied for 22nd at 211 ... Special Olympics Utah, the benefiting charity for the tournament, was presented a check for $25,000.
E-mail: sor@desnews.com