It was wild . . . a ton of birdies . . . long putts . . . it was crazy. I was just hoping I’d have a chance on the last hole. Sometimes those long putts go in. It was my day. – Nathan Lashley
PROVO — All day long it looked like Jordan Rodgers’ dream of winning the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open was going to come true.
The 25-year-old was playing Riverside Country Club, where he played hundreds of rounds for BYU and had won the Cougar Classic in his final collegiate tournament in April. He was in the midst of a great summer of golf, having won the Utah State Amateur last month and winning low pro honors at the Salt Lake City Open two weeks ago. He played great golf all week, shooting a 64 in the first round and a 65 in the second and his 67 in the third round, gave him a 196 total, the best 54-hole score in Utah Open history.
The only problem was, Nathan Lashley was also playing in the tournament and he finished a couple of strokes better, thanks to a pair of improbable long putts on the 16th and 17th holes and a terrific chip on the final hole.
Lashley shot a final-round 64 which gave him a tournament-record 194 total, the $21,000 first-place check and his second Utah Open trophy to go along with the one he won in 2009.
“It was wild . . . a ton of birdies . . . long putts . . . it was crazy,’’ Lashley said. “I was just hoping I’d have a chance on the last hole. Sometimes those long putts go in. It was my day.’’
It certainly was his day and “those long putts” will go down in Utah Open lore.
Lashley was trailing Rodgers, who had led most of the day after starting the round with a one-shot lead, by one shot with three holes to play. Rodgers hit his approach shot at 16 within 10 feet, while Lashley’s short chip, barely made the green and left him 45 feet away.
It looked like a possible two-shot swing for Rodgers, which would have practically wrapped up the tournament for him. Instead, Lashley rolled in what he called a “bomb” and a rattled Rodgers slid his birdie try past the hole.
“I barely got it on the green and I knew I had to give it a chance because I thought he was going to make his putt,’’ Lashley said.
Now the two were tied and at the next hole Rodgers again had the edge with a 25-footer and Lashley facing an uphill 35-footer with three feet of break. Lashley said he felt confident over the putt and again found the cup, while Rodgers left his putt a foot short.
Lashley suddenly had the advantage, but at the 18th hole, he left the door open by pulling his approach shot left of the green. Rodgers hit the green, 50 feet from the hole. However, Lashley’s delicate chip from 30 feet, lipped the cup, leaving him with a tap-in for the victory after Rodgers' birdie try slipped by (he missed the meaningless three-footer coming back for his only bogey of the day).
Rodgers said he felt he was “grinding” all day and was fortunate to hold a two-stroke lead with four holes left after making birdies at 10, 11, 13 and 14. At the par-5 15th, he made an interesting play on his third shot from 40 feet off the green.
Instead of chipping, he used his putter and left himself 25 feet short of the hole.
“I don’t have confidence in my pitching right now, so I figured I’d putt it,’’ he said.
He ended up with a par, while Lashley birdied to cut the lead to one, setting up his astonishing putts at 16 and 17.
“He made the putts when he needed to and I didn’t and that’s what it takes to win tournaments,’’ said Rodgers.
Several other fine performances were left in the shadows of the Lashley-Rodgers duel.
Former PGA winner and 2004 Ryder Cup member Chris Riley shot a 65 and finished in third place at 198. California’s Martin Trainer and St. George’s Nick Killpack came in at 200 and 201, respectively, while Dusty Fielding tied Jay Don Blake’s course record of 62 and moved up several spots to a tie for sixth place at 202.
Fielding, also of St. George, won the Provo Open earlier this summer as well as the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado last week. He shot a 29 on the front nine with an eagle and five birdies. On the back nine he had four birdies and a lone bogey at No. 10.
BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn fired an 8-under-par 64 to finish with low amateur honors at 202, in a tie with Fielding.
Four golfers, Provo’s Chris Moody, ex-BYU golfer Justin Keiley, Scotland’s Jimmy Gunn and Boise’s Taeksoo Kim all tied for eight at 203.
Both Lashley and Rodgers will head to the PGA’s “Tour School” next month and try to qualify for the Web.com Tour. As disappointed as he was about losing, Rodgers found something positive about his play last week.
“You can’t be too mad about that, shooting 20-under for three rounds,’’ he said. “I can be mad because I didn’t win.’’
OPEN NOTES: The tournament was able to raise $45,000 for the Utah Special Olympics . . . The low 54-hole score before this year was the 196 total by Todd Fischer at Jeremy Ranch in 2000 . . . Riley is the golfer who was highly criticized for sitting out a 2004 Ryder Cup match because of fatigue . . . Lashley finished second in 2010 and again last year when he lost in a playoff to B.J. Staten.
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