Professional golfers are starting to dominate the Larry H. Miller Utah Women’s Open after amateurs took home six straight titles between 2019 and 2024.
In arguably the most dominating performance in the tournament’s 10 years, 21-year-old Ali Mulhall of St. George shot a pair of 7-under-par 65s Monday and Tuesday to finish at -14 and win by four shots at TalonsCove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs.
Mulhall turned pro in 2025 after a brilliant amateur and junior career in which she won more than 370 tournaments, according to her website, and earned $4,000 for the victory.
Oregon native Haley Costello, who golfed collegiately at Colorado State and Tulsa when she was known as Haley Greb, placed second at -10 (68-66), while former BYU golfer and BYU women’s assistant golf coach Lea Garner was third at -7 (69-68).
Garner won the first two Utah Women’s Open titles in 2017 and 2018 at Timpanogos Golf Club (formerly known as East Bay Golf Club) in Provo.
Making her professional debut, former Arizona State golfer and 2020 Utah Women’s State Am champ Grace Summerhays tied for fourth at 6-under with former BYU star Kerstin Ngakuru.
Former Texas golfer Faith Kilgore of Canyon Lake, Texas, defending champion Emilee Hoffman of Salt Lake City and low amateur Makena Junkin of Burleson, Texas, tied for sixth at 5-under.
Hoffman, 28, was a newcomer to the state of Utah when she shot an even-par 144 to win last year’s tournament at The Country Club of Salt Lake City.
Junkin, the only amateur in the top eight, plays college golf for Texas Wesleyan University.
Six-time Utah Women’s Amateur champion Kelsey Chugg, who lost in the Women’s Am finals last week to Taylorsville’s Ashley Lam, shot 71-69 to place ninth.
Coincidentally, the last time Mulhall played at TalonsCove, she lost in the finals of the 2024 Utah Women’s Amateur to Chugg on the 18th hole.
Mulhall opened Tuesday’s second round with an eagle 3 on the par-5 1st hole at TalonsCove, then made a bogey on No. 2. She bounced back admirably, however, with a birdie on No. 5 and another eagle, on the par-5 9th hole.
She finished the tournament with 11 birdies and two eagles, while Summerhays had 12 birdies and an eagle and Costello had 11 birdies.
The 100th Larry H. Miller Utah Open begins Aug. 14 and runs through Aug. 16 at Riverside Country Club in Provo.
Larry H. Miller Utah Women’s Open
At par-72 TalonsCove Golf Club, Saratoga Springs
Final 36-hole results
- 130 — Ali Mulhall (65-65)
- 134 — Haley Costello (68-66)
- 137 — Lea Garner (69-68)
- 138 — Kerstin Ngakuru (71-67), Grace Summerhays (71-67)
- 139 — Faith Kilgore (70-69), Emilee Hoffman (69-70), a-Makena Junkin (69-70)
- 140 — a-Kelsey Chugg (71-69)
- 141 — Alexandra White (70-71)
- 142 — a-Navy Hubbs (73-69)
- 143 — a-Sunbin Seo (75-68), a-Brenna Higgins (72-71), Haley Sturgeon (69-74)
- 144 — a-Samantha Phelan (76-68), a-Addison King (74-70), a-Whitney Banz (71-73)
- 145 — a-Sydney Richards (76-69), a-Kyra Sponenburgh (72-73), a-Rachel Lillywhite (71-74), Natalie Stone (70-75)
a-denotes amateur