MIDWAY — Jon Wright won his two Men’s State Amateur trophies while in his 40s, in 2012 and 2014. While he still feels he can compete with the young kids and will try to prove it at next week’s State Am, he is happy to have the chance to compete against players closer to his age now that he is 50 and can play in senior events.
Wright hit the half century mark on Aug. 3, not quite soon enough to compete in the Utah Senior Open. But he was able to play in his first senior event this week and came out on top, winning the Utah Senior State Amateur at Wasatch Mountain State Park Golf Course.
“It’s nice to play with guys your age again. These kids hit it so far. I used to be the one who hit it farther than everyone but I just don’t any more.” — Jon Wright
Wright, who lives in Salt Lake and works in commercial real estate, won five matches on his way to the title, defeating Spanish Fork’s Chris Hermansen 3 and 2 in the finals Wednesday.
“It’s nice to play with guys your age again,” Wright said after his victory. “These kids hit it so far. I used to be the one who hit it farther than everyone but I just don’t any more.”
Wright loves match play and freely admits, “I’m really good at it” because he treats each hole as a separate competition and loves the psychology in it, trying to figure out what it going on in his opponent’s head.
Of course, you have to have the skills and Wright showed them off most of the week, going 6-under-par and 7-under-par in his two wins Tuesday with no bogeys. He didn’t play as well Wednesday but was able to hold off the 51-year-old Hermansen, who hasn’t won a lot of local events but does own a 14-year streak of qualifying for the State Amateur.
Wright got off to an early lead in the finals match, but his lead was cut to 1 up after Hermansen chipped in for birdie at No. 8. Wright hit his drive at No. 9 into the trees, then nearly whiffed his next shot, which went 3 feet and then punched out on the fairway. He was 70 yards out, hitting four and chipped to 10 feet above the hole. He sank the downhill slider and when Hermansen couldn’t birdie, Wright walked off feeling like he’d won the hole.
From there he didn’t lose any more holes and won 14 and 15 and closed out the match at No. 16.
On his way to the title, Wright beat Dan Hatch and Jeff Chugg in the first two rounds, then beat his good friend Brigham Gibbs 4 and 3 in the quarterfinals and Paul Cannon 2 and 1 in the semifinals.
Farmington’s David Bachman won the Super Senior flight for golfers 65 and older, defeating former champion Mike Hacker of St. George 1 up. It was his second big win in a month as he also won the Super Senior division at the Utah Senior Open.
Bachman, who works as a pharmacist, fell behind by two holes early, but he felt the momentum change at No. 9 where he made a birdie and followed it with another birdie to tie the match. Then he won holes 13 and 14 and hung on for the victory.
Draper’s Marie Needham won the women’s title with a 1 up victory over Park City’s Elizabeth Jones, who lost in the finals for the second straight year. In Tuesday’s semifinals, Needham surprised herself by knocking off top seed and defending champion Annette Gaiotti.
“It feels great to win,” said the 57-year-old Needham. “I haven’t played in too many major tournaments. I’ve been battling a lot of injuries the last couple of years.”
In the net division finals, Donny Tyndall, who plays out of Davis Park, defeated Riverbend’s David Hunt 3 and 2.