Provo • Patrick Fishburn apparently was not kidding when he said he wanted to follow his opening-round 63 with a 62 in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.
He settled for a second-round 64.
The BYU senior from Ogden will take a seven-stroke lead over defending champion Zahkai Brown of Colorado and two California pros into Sunday’s final round, trying to become the second amateur golfer to win the Utah Open in more than 40 years.
Fishburn stands at 17-under-par 127. He led by two shots after 36 holes last August, before fading to a tie for fifth place. His closing 73 that day was not shocking, considering he had followed his first-round 62 with a 71. That history is another reason Saturday’s 64 was so impressive.
“I finally followed up a good round with another good round,” he said.
That’s probably an insufficient adjective. Fishburn eagled the par-4 No. 2 from about 20 yards out to launch his second round, then added six birdies while making no bogeys. By building a big lead, he may have taken some of the mystery out of Sunday’s conclusion – but certainly not all of it.
Promising to “just keep playing the exact same way” and treat the tournament “like BYU practice” on the Cougars’ home course, Fishburn will seek a rare amateur breakthrough. Weber State’s Greg Buckway won the Utah Open at Alpine Country Club in 2004; BYU’s Michael Brannan took the 1975 title at Riverside.
And a bunch of pros will try to catch Fishburn, while concerning themselves with the $20,000 check that’s offered only to them. They aspire to play above the state open level, but many of them keep coming back to Utah in August. Brown shot a final-round 64 to win last year’s title. He’s joined at 10 under by California pros Edward Olson and Luke Vivolo. The group at 9 under includes 2014 winner B.J. Staten of Cottonwood Heights, 2016 runner-up Ty Travis of Idaho and 2013 runner-up Jesse Mueller of Arizona.
Among other notable Utahns, PGA Tour player Zac Blair (68-68) is 10th. Salt Lake City’s Tommy Sharp (73-65) is the top Utah Section PGA member, Spanish Fork’s Ryan Rhees (73-72) won the 36-hole Senior Sidebar within the tournament and Lea Garner, winner of the recent Utah Women’s Open, posted 78-76.
The 36-hole cut came at 2-over 146, with 62 players advancing.
Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open<br>At Riverside Country Club<br>Par 72<br>(a-amateur)<br>127 – a-Patrick Fishburn (63-64). 134 – ZahkaiBrown (70-64), Luke Vivolo (68-66), Edward Olson (65-69). 135 – B.J.Staten (69-66), Jesse Mueller (67-68), Ty Travis (66-69), Neil Johnston(68-67), Calum Hill (68-67). 136 – Zac Blair (68-68). 137 – AlexChiarella (71-66), Gregor Main (68-69). 138 – Riley Arp (66-72), TommySharp (73-65). Mitchell Carlson (68-70). 139 – Tele Wightman (70-69),Matt Baird (69-70), Austyn Karle (67-72). 140 – Chris Moody (71-69),Craig Hocknull (72-68), a-Blair Bursey (73-67), Pete Fernandez (70-70),a-Peter Kuest (71-69). 141 – Jere Pelletier (71-70), a-Rhett Rasmussen(70-71), Seokwon Jeon (71-70), Jordan Rodgers (72-69), Brandon Kida(70-71), Matthew Nolasco (74-67). 142 – James Drew (69-73), a-OscarMaxfield (72-70), Dusty Fielding (71-71), Joe Parkinson (71-71), ChadPettingill (70-72). 143 – Milo Lines (71-72), Phillip Reedy (73-70),Daryl Spivey (75-68), Sam Jandel (74-69), Jimmy Makloski (72-71), DerekBarron (74-69), Tyler Weworski (70-73). 144 – a-Chad Hardy (72-72),Scott Smith (71-73). 145 – a-Cole Ponich (70-75), a-Zach Jones (75-70),Dean Wilson (72-73), Ryan Rhees (73-72), Pete Stone (73-72), a-KeltonHirsch (77-68), a-CJ Lee (78-67), a-Jacob Boyce (75-70), Chip Wesley(73-72). 146 – Zach Johnson (75-71), Tracy Zobell (74-72), Jacob Holt(74-72), Jonathon Thomas (68-78), Kane Webber (73-73), Shawn Edwards(73-73).<br>Failed to qualify<br>147 – a-Brock Stanger(75-72), Travis Hofland (72-75), Joe Summerhays (74-73), BruceSummerhays Jr. (74-73), Gipper Finau (77-70), Steve Schneiter (74-73),Derek Butts (76-71). 148 – Federico Clausen (74-74), Todd Tanner(73-75), Jimmy Mee (74-74), Ian Maxwell (75-73), Dustin Pimm (71-77),a-Jon Wright (74-74), a-Hunter Howe (76-72), Eric Nielsen (73-75),a-Preston Alder (72-76), a-Braxton Miller (75-73).
Follow @tribkurt