PROVO — A week earlier, Zahkai Brown seriously considered taking a break from his brutal schedule that sees him playing a golf tournament pretty much every week of the year. Having already played in 35 tournaments this year, he wondered if he really wanted to make the 15-hour drive from Minot, North Dakota, to Utah, especially considering that he was getting married in 10 days.
Brown decided not to withdraw and boy is he glad he didn’t. He came to Riverside Country Club to play in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open, shot a 61 in his pro-am round Wednesday, then capped off his week by winning the tournament thanks to a final-round 64.
Now Brown and his wife will have plenty of spending money when they go on their honeymoon later this week after their Thursday wedding.
“I’m a little more at ease with it,” he said after earning a winner’s check of $21,000.
Brown finished with a 16-under-par 200 total and defeated Boise pro Ty Travis by two shots and California’s Martin Trainer and Derek Lahti-Barron by four. First- and second-round leader Patrick Fishburn, who is a senior at BYU, finished in a tie for fifth with Alpine’s Joe Parkinson and Nevada’s Mitch Carlson at 206.
For the 26-year-old Brown, Sunday’s win was a breakthrough after years of playing well at the Utah Open. Since graduating from Colorado State, he’s come to the Utah Open the past four years and always contended, being the low pro after two rounds in 2013 and shooting a 64 in the first round in 2014 to take the lead.
However, his finishes haven’t been so great, as he tied for seventh in 2013 and tied for ninth in 2014. Last year he tied for 16th and in 2012 he tied for 15th.
“I’ve come close and always been in contention,” he said. “This year was different, and I played strong (in the final round).”
Brown had begun the final round three shots behind Fishburn and one behind Travis. He jumped into a tie for the lead with five birdies in his first 10 holes and added birdies at 13 and 15 to take a three-stroke lead.
Although he wasn’t checking on the leaderboards, someone told him he was three strokes ahead. Then he promptly bogeyed 16 by three-putting, and when Travis, playing the group behind, chipped in for eagle after nearly driving the green, it was suddenly all tied up.
At the par-3 17th, Brown hit his tee shot within seven feet and sank the putt. Then at 18, he birdied again with a 15-footer. Travis watched Brown’s birdie at 17 and didn’t know until he got to the green at 18 that his 20-foot birdie was meaningless with Brown two stokes ahead.
“He played well, props to him,” said the 23-year-old Travis. “I did all I could on my part. I’m really happy with second-place finish because this was a good field.”
Fishburn had led the tournament since shooting a course-record-tying 62 in Friday’s first round and added a 71 on Saturday. When he reeled off three straight birdies at 5, 6 and 7, he held a two-stroke advantage, but he gave it back with a double bogey at 8. He fell back with a bogey at 12 and then disaster struck at the par-5 15th hole.
Fishburn was still a couple of strokes off the lead when he hit his second shot into the lake by the green. The ball was submerged about a foot, and he tried to hit it out, but failed to find dry ground. He then took a penalty and by the time his ball found the hole, he had a triple-bogey 8 and was out of the tournament.
“That was probably the dumbest play in the history of the game when I tried to hit out of the water on 15,” he said. “But I had to give it a try. I take a lot of risks and it looked like something I could pull off. I figured I had to make a birdie. It was fun to try.”
Brown, who won four smaller tournaments earlier this year, will take a couple of weeks off before coming back for more golf in the fall, including a try at the PGA Tour Q School.
Fishburn starts class at BYU this week for his senior season and is happy with his summer of play, which included five victories, including the Utah State Amateur title.
“It’s been a really good summer,” he said. “My game came a long ways. Hopefully I can keep it rolling this fall season.”
UTAH OPEN
Final results
Riverside Country Club
Par-72
a- denotes amateur
Zahkai Brown $21,000 66-70-64 — 200
Ty Travis $15,000 66-69-67 — 202
Martin Trainer, $8,000 68-70-66 — 204
Derek Lahti-Barron $8,000 68-68-68 — 204
a-Patrick Fishburn 62-71-73 — 206
Joe Parkinson $4,300 71-68-67 — 206
Mitch Carlson $4,300 70-68-68 — 206
Craig Hocknull $3,200 67-71-69 — 207
Seokwon Jeon $2,320 73-69-67 — 209
Tracy Zobell $2,320 68-72-69 — 209
Tommy Sharp $2,320 73-68-68 — 209
Ian Maxwell $2,320 69-70-70 — 209
Jesse Mueller $2,320 66-70-73 — 209
a-Peter Kuest 73-68-68 — 209
Jordan Rodgers $1,575 69-68-73 — 210
Brandon Kida $1,575 66-73-71 — 210
Zach Johnson $1,575 69-71-70 — 210
Chris Moody $1,575 68-71-71 — 210
Kane Webber $1,575 66-71-73 — 210
Alex Chiarella $1,575 72-65-73 — 210
a-Rhett Rasmussen 69-69-72 — 210
James Drew $1,325 73-70-68 — 211
Nick Mason $1,325 74-67-79 — 211
Dusty Fielding $1,225 71-71-70 — 212
Todd Tanner $1,225 68-73-71 — 212
Hayden Christensen $933 77-68-68 — 213
Scott Spiewak $933 72-69-69 — 213
Gipper Finau $933 70-74-69 — 213
Bruce Summerhays Jr. $933 70-72-71 — 213
Joe Summerhays $933 69-75-69 — 213
Jere Pelletier $933 74-68-71 — 213
Davis Garner $933 70-72-71 — 213
Justin Mills $933 73-68-72 — 213
Mark Owen $933 71-70-72 — 213
Owen Mahaffey $933 68-73-72 — 213
Clay Ogden $933 70-70-73 — 213
Gregor Main $933 71-68-74 — 213
a-C.J. Lee 72-69-69 — 213
a-Cameron Crawford 75-68-70 — 213
Cole Ogden $725 69-75-70 — 214
Nick Killpack $725 72-70-72 — 214
Matt Baird $725 70-67-77 — 214
a-Blair Bursey 73-69-72 — 214
Pete Stone $650 72-73-71 — 216
Steve Schneiter $650 73-70-73 — 216
Chase Barnes $650 71-71-74 — 216
Jake Ellison $650 67-74-75 — 216
a-Hayden Banz 71-74-71 — 216
Eddie Stewart $570 74-72-71 — 217
Braden Baer $570 71-74-72 — 217
Steele DeWald $570 72-74-71 — 217
Tele Wightman $570 72-73-72 — 217
Tim Harris $503 72-73-73 — 218
Sam Jandel $503 73-71-74 — 218
Colby Myers $503 68-71-79 — 218
a-Dan Horner 73-72-73 — 218
a-Cole Ponich 68-76-74 — 218
Casey Fowles $475 71-73-75 — 219
Chris Stover $475 71-72-76 — 219
a-Cam Howe 74-72-73 — 219
a-Ryan Brimley 70-73-76 — 219
Barry Schenk $460 73-73-75 — 221
a-JT Timmons 75-70-78 — 223
Isaac Jimison $450 71-75-78 — 224