JEREMY RANCH — The cooler temperatures Tuesday didn’t prevent some hot scores in the first round of the Utah State Amateur at Jeremy Ranch Country Club.
University of Utah senior Mitchell Schow led the way with a 6-under 66 while BYU golfer Cole Ponich and Park City’s Justin Shluker each posted 5-under-par 67s on the 7,092-yard layout.
Kirk Siddens, John Owen and Daren Johnson all came in at 69, while five golfers including Skyline High teammates Tyson Shelley and Simon Kwon shot 70.
The 144 golfers in the field, which has been cut in half from previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic, will play one more day of medal play, after which the low 32 golfers will compete in match play beginning Thursday. By Saturday morning, just two golfers will be left to compete in a 36-hole final.
Temperatures hovered near 40 degrees when golfers teed off Tuesday morning and although it got up into the 70s in the afternoon, a strong wind picked up when Schow played his round.
“I’ve played here the last 10 years so I knew what to expect,” Schow said of the windy conditions. “The greens are good; you just have to stay patient.”
An Ogden native, Schow has been a top amateur in the area since his days as prep champion while playing for the Park City High School team. He has won three amateur tournaments this summer. He has played the last four years at the University of Utah and after having his senior season cut short by the COVID-19 virus, has opted to play one more season after originally planning to turn professional.
“If someone had told me five or six months ago I’d be playing in the State Am I’d have told them they’re crazy,” he said. “It’s day by day — I’m excited to be here.”
Starting on the back nine, Schow birdied 11, 12 and 13 and after a bogey at 15, added birdies at 16 and 18. He started off his second nine with a birdie at 1 and added another at No. 7.
Ponich, who prepped at Davis High School, was a regular for the BYU golf team this past year. He started slowly before coming on strong on his second nine with birdies at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 and a lone bogey at 8.
The 25-year-old Shluker is a former 3A individual state champion for Park City High and was part of four straight state championship teams, including one year with Schow. He grew up playing Jeremy Ranch and showed his experience by making six birdies with just one bogey on the day.
The cut is expected to come around even-par 144 and several top players are in danger of missing the cut for match play.
Among those in jeopardy are two-time champion Jon Wright (75), last year’s runner-up Chase Lansford (76), 2013 champion Cole Ogden (76), BYU golfer and 2019 semifinalist Spencer Dunaway (77), 1998 champion Darrin Overson (77), 2007 champion Nick Nelson (78) and 2004 champion Clark Rustand (79).
Two-time defending champion Preston Summerhays is not playing in this year’s tournament after opting to play in the Junior Players Championship, an American Junior Golf Association event in Ponte Vedra, Florida.
Utah State Amateur scores
Jeremy Ranch Country Club Par-72
66 — Mitchell Schow
67 — Justin Shluker, Cole Ponich
69 — Kirk Siddens, Daren Johnson, John Owen
70 — Hayden Banz, Brock Stanger, Simon Kwon, Tyson Shelley, Hayden Christensen
71 — Luke Crapo, Dan Horner, Lucas Schone, Kurt Owen, Nik Parcell, Nick Killpack, Noah Schone
72 — Carsen Dopp, Ryan Brimley, Landon Anderson, Steven Croft, Hunter Howe, Braxton Watts, Greg Slack, Willard Richards, Colton Tanner, Thomas Young, Blake Tomlinson
73 — Tristan Mandur, Elijah Turner, Kelton Hirsch, Boston Bracken, Jake Vincent, Davis Heslington, Andy Hess, Brandon Robison, Derek Penman
74 — Cameron Tucker, Kihei Akina, Brock Nielson, Kurt Jamison, Tanner Telford, Gary (Brett) Smith
75 — Brandon Hargett, Ali Hameed, Scott Nielson, Eric Loveland, Patrick Horstmann, Tristan Fuller, Jon Wright, Adam Whitt, Tyson Lund
76 — Rich Tripp, Keanu Hiram Lester Akina, Cole Ogden, Caysen Wright, Jackson Holman, Preston Cheney, Jacob Marx, Chase Lansford, Randy Hicken, Peyton Hastings, Andrew Barton
77 — Nathan Nyman, Spencer Dunaway, Carl Jensen, Devin Tovey, Peter Ouimette, Jack Sargent, Guy Child, Darrin Overson, Dylan Chugg, Tyson Tanner, Matthew Lyons, Jeff Appelbaum, Denny Job, Dan Ihler, Shane McMillan
78 — Tucker Lee, Nick Nelson. Tommy Johnson, Simon Chamness, Parker Reese, Keaton Woodland, Clint Finkbiner, Jacob Wagstaff, Craig Wilson, Ryan Barber, David Jennings,
79 — Charlie Taylor, Tanner Tregeagle, Clark Rustand, Steve Poulson, Mike Branca, Emmitt Harris, Reed Nielsen, Alex DeBry
80 — Jason Hargett, Rigo Jimenez, Josh Howe, John Fox, Tirston Hartfiel, Max Brenchley, Stephen Lindsey, Ben Jorgensen, Camron Saunders, Tyler Hand, Jack Algya
81 — Brock Goyen, Tysen Diaz, John Johnston, Matthew Garry, Justin Johnson, Austin Hammond, Karl Avant, Brigham Gibbs,
82 — Boston Watts, Jimmy Secor, Peter Stuhr, Michael Dadiani, Jalen Martinez, Brandon LaPointe, Shane Romano, Jason Young
83 — Lorenzo Gillenwater
84 — Travis Miner, Pete Bennett, Cobe Reck, Chris Archibald, Heath Westfall
85 — Sean Lam, Cody Anderson, Joshua Pehrson, David Wright
86 — Jack Wright, Ryan Williams
87 — KJ Ofahengaue, Corey Matthews
88 — Patrick Murphy, Brandon Ballif
90 — Logan Roberts