This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Alpine • Technically, this year's Utah State Amateur golf tournament doesn't have a defending champion. That's because former BYU star Jordan Rodgers, who cruised to the title last year at Soldier Hollow Golf Club, turned professional shortly after the win.
However, 41-year-old Darrin Overson comes close. Having lost to Rodgers in a tight championship match last July, Overson is back and ready to make another run at the most prestigious title in Utah amateur golf.
The six-day affair, the 118th iteration of the longest continuously held golf tournament in the world, returns to Alpine Country Club for the first time since 2010, when local product Joe Parkinson stamped his name on the big silver trophy as an 18-year-old phenom who barely made the field.
Coincidentally, Parkinson — now a professional golfer — edged Overson in the semifinals that year at Alpine before knocking off Stuart Gold in the final. Overson, who won the 1998 State Am at Riverside Country Club in Provo, still remembers that bitter defeat.
The sales consultant from Provo also hasn't forgotten how it felt to come oh-so-close last year.
"I was happy with the way I played," he said Wednesday during a media event at Alpine. "It was definitely a little sour, the way it ended. I wanted to win badly, and I was prepared to win. It definitely gave me more of that desire to win another one."
Just as it was in 2014, stroke-play qualifying will be played on two different courses Monday and Tuesday: Alpine and nearby Fox Hollow Golf Course, a public course. Golfers who play Alpine on Monday will play Fox Hollow on Tuesday, and vice versa.
The field of around 288 golfers will be cut to 64 for match play, which begins Wednesday at Alpine and stays at that venue through the final. Two rounds of match play will be played Thursday and Friday, and the 36-hole championship match is Saturday.
Bill Walker, executive director of the Utah Golf Association, said expanding to a second course allows more golfers to compete, and noted that the practice is not that uncommon. For instance, the U.S. Amateur utilizes two separate facilities.
As for choosing Fox Hollow, Walker said it is a similar-length course as Alpine (around 7,150 yards from the back tees) with a reputation for being well-maintained and hospitable to other UGA events.
"Amongst the players, it seems like a very popular venue," Walker said.
Alpine is also a big favorite, and this year's tournament drew more than 750 entrants for local qualifying, the most since The Country Club of Salt Lake City was the host in 2012.
"I'm thrilled that it is at Alpine," said Overson. "It is a fair test of golf. There are some tough tee shots out there that are a little tricky, and you have to know where to hit it, and where to position yourself on the greens. With so many good players out there, it could come down to a putting contest."
Two-time champion Jon Wright also likes the venue — and the annual challenge of going against the young college golfers who don't have to work for a living and are accustomed to playing 36 holes a day in big tournaments on tough golf courses.
"My game is better than it has been, but not where I would like it," Wright said. "But we will have to go with what I have right now, see how it turns out."
Speaking of college golfers, every college program in the state will be represented, and BYU golfer C.J. Lee says "it is a big deal" among those players to see which school fares the best.
"We definitely take pride in that," said Lee, a Timpview High product who grew up in Seattle.
Overson, Wright and 38-year-old Dan Horner, the 2008 champion, will again carry the banner for the "older" guys. The list of other former champions entered includes Clark Rustand (2004) and Steve Borget (1985).
Any list of favorites has to include two BYU-affiliated golfers, incoming freshman Rhett Rasmussen and rising junior Patrick Fishburn. With a +6.2 handicap, the long-hitting Fishburn has the lowest handicap index in the field, and Rasmussen was the UGA's Player of the Year in 2015 and is having a strong year on the state's amateur circuit.
The youngest player in the field is 13-year-old Preston Summerhays, the son of former PGA Tour player Boyd Summerhays. The oldest is 63-year-old Mick Mahler, a former professional baseball pitcher.
Twitter: @drewjay —
118th Utah State Amateur
P At Alpine Country Club and Fox Hollow Golf Course
When • Monday and Tuesday at both courses; Wednesday through Saturday (match play) at Alpine CC
Who • 288 of the state's top amateur golfers
Format • Thirty-six holes of stroke-play qualifying, followed by match play beginning Wednesday. Championship match, 36 holes, is Saturday