My putting kept me in there. I seemed to make the putts I needed to to keep my round going, I made some good par-savers. – Dan Horner
MIDWAY — Dan Horner began the day a shot off the lead, but, by the end of Tuesday’s round at Wasatch Mountain State Park Golf Course, the 39-year-old Sandy resident was the winner of the UGA Mid-Amateur Championship by a whopping six shots.
That’s what a nifty little 7-under-par 65 will do for you.
Horner captured his second title in the Mid-Amateur for golfers 25 and older, adding to his 2011 victory. Horner’s 65 gave him a three-round total of 16-under-par 200, six shots ahead of four golfers: Jon Wright, Darrin Overson, Kurt Owen and Jake Boyce.
“I played well today,” Horner said. “My putting kept me in there. I seemed to make the putts I needed to to keep my round going, I made some good par-savers.”
Horner, a New Jersey native who has lived in Utah for 15 years, made six birdies on the day and an eagle at the par-5 14th hole when he hit his approach shot within a foot of the cup.
He had started the day one shot behind Boyce, a 26-year-old Alpine resident, who recently moved from Boise. But Horner took the lead on the second hole when he birdied and Boyce’s drive got lost in a tree, resulting in a double bogey. At the turn, Horner was one up and he extended his lead with a birdie at 11 and the eagle at 14.
Horner, a former State Amateur champion, will play in next month’s State Amateur. In August he’ll try to qualify for the national Mid-Amateur Championship, a tournament he’s played in seven times before.
Wright, a two-time State Amateur champion, was hurt by a double-bogey at the par-5 No. 9 hole when his drive got lost in the trees. He had the shot of the day at No. 14 when his approach at the par-5 spun back and hit the pin and stayed on the lip for a tap-in eagle. Wright and Overson, the 1998 State Am champ, tied for first in the Masters Division for golfers 40 to 49.
Brett Sampson won the Senior Division at 209 by one shot over Kirk Siddens and Brigham Gibbs after a final-round 66.
UGA Mid-Amateur Championship
Wasatch Mountain State Park Lake Course
Par-72
200 – Dan Horner (68-67-65)
206 – Kurt Owen (70-69-67), Jon Wright (70-66-70), Darrin Overson (67-69-70), Jake Boyce (66-68-72)
207 – Derek Squire (69-68-70)
208 – Preston Alder (72-65-71)
209 – Brett Sampson (70-73-66)
210 – Dexter Edwards (73-68-69), Kirk Siddens (70-70-70), Brigham Gibbs (69-68-73)