SANDY — If you were to pick three guys to join your scramble team at the company golf tournament, you couldn't go wrong with the three guys inducted into the Utah Golf Hall of Fame Wednesday night at Hidden Valley Country Club.
Dan Forsman, Jay Don Blake and Todd Barker were given Utah's highest golf honor at a tuxedo-laden affair.
They'll get you down the green driveway in style, they'll knock down pins and they do know how to putt the dimpled orb.
Of course, I doubt they'd be available. They're working stiffs. Working in The Game.
It's tough to think of a trio that deserves induction more. Forsman and Blake, who are in their early 50s, just finished playing at the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek where Blake finished 18th and Forsman 53rd.
Dan Forsman is that tall, lanky, flat belly with the smooth Ernie Els swing you might see on the driving range at Riverside Country Club. A gentleman and classy player, Dan Forsman gets to the hall because of his reputation, contribution to golf locally and his skills as a player.
Forsman was born in Rhineland, Wis., and played college golf at Arizona State, but he and his wife, the former Trudy Holly, have lived in Provo for 25 years.
Forsman has won five PGA events, and the runners-up in those five titles are impressive figures including Raymond Floyd, Bob Tway, Tommy Armour III, Steve Elkington, Brad Faxon and Robert Allenby.
In his first Champions Tour event, the 2009 AT&T Champions Classic, he fired a final round 6-under par and beat Don Polley in a playoff with a birdie on the first hole.
Forsman's best finishes in majors include ties for seventh in both the 1992 PGA Championship and 1993 Masters. His career earnings approach $10 million.
Jay Don Blake remains a legend in Utah golf circles. The former Utah State star hails from St. George where you can often see him working through a bucket at Coral Canyon, his home course.
Blake is a competitor, always has been. He's like an eel on the prowl.
Blake's best year on the PGA Tour came in 1991 when he won at Torrey Pines and had five other top 10 finishes.
He is also the first Utah native to play regularly on the PGA Tour and is currently playing on the PGA Champions Tour with Forsman.
Many consider Blake the best native Utahn to take up the game of golf.
He won the NCAA medalist honors in 1980 in Columbus, Ohio, was runner-up the following year at Palo Alto, Calif., and was named NCAA Player of the Year. He set Riverside Country Club's record of 10-under 62 in the 1980 Utah State Amateur. It has stood the test of time through many Cougar Classics with collegiate All-Americans from all over the country, the appearance of Tiger Woods and many current PGA Tour professionals who played Riverside during the Ben Hogan Tour (now Nationwide Tour) years in Provo.
He has career earnings near $7 million.
This season, Blake ranks 22nd on the Champions Tour money list with $256,052 while Forsman is No. 36 at $125,851. Mike Reid is 38th with $120,038 in earnings.
Todd Barker might just be one of the most enduring and active amateur golfers the state has ever produced. He is a tremendous competitor and one of my favorite interviews after a round. His "one-of-the guys" persona has kept him popular with fellow competitors through the decades.
Barker, part owner and superintendent of Fore Lakes Golf Course, was one of Utah's top amateurs during the '80s and '90s. He was named UGA Player of the Year five times, in 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1997. No other player has been named UGA Player of the Year more than twice. He won the Utah State Amateur championship in 1997 and has won the Golf Course Superintendents National championship twice.
The Utah Golf Hall of Fame is jointly sponsored by the Utah Golf Association and the Utah Section of the PGA. Selections are made by a joint committee of the two organizations along with several selected members of the media. The Utah Golf Association is responsible for housing the Hall of Fame and conducting the induction ceremonies.
This will mark the seventh induction ceremony and bring the total number of honorees to 33. The most recent induction ceremony was held in 2007 with Mike Reid, Bob Betley, and Marcia Thayne inducted.
With this trio, the hall just got bigger and brighter.
email: dharmon@desnews.com
Twitter: Harmonwrites