This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Saratoga Springs • Riverside Country Club teaching professional Matt Baird went into Monday's qualifying for the Web.com Tour's Utah Championship with zero expectations, and his prospects looked even dimmer when he shot a 2-over 38 on the front nine at Talons Cove Golf Club.

Then Baird turned it around, big time. He shot a 30 on the back nine, which was good enough to put the 41-year-old Cedar Hills resident into a playoff with 14 other golfers for the 12th and final spot in the tournament, which begins Thursday at Thanksgiving Point.

No problem.

Baird was the only golfer to make a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-4 10th, and so he will tee it up Thursday in Utah's only PGA Tour-type event.

"I was playing with house money," said Baird, who hit a 9-iron from 162 yards out to within 12 feet and then sank the downhill putt.

Three other Utahns shot 68 under extremely windy conditions at the course west of the Utah Lake on Monday and qualified for the playoff: St. George's Gipper Finau and Dusty Fielding, Farmington's Zach Johnson and Chase Lansford, a Utah State-bound amateur who works at Talons Cove.

Fielding lipped out a 15-footer on his birdie attempt, while the others didn't come close.

Robert Bell of Pierz, Minn., had the day's best round, a 7-under 65.

Qualifying at 66 were Brian Richey of Lakeland, Fla., Tyler Weworski of Carlsbad, Calif., and Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The group at 67 included Riley Arp and Jeff Berkshire of Scottsdale, Ariz., Alexander Kang and Max Marisco of Las Vegas, Charlie Danielson of Osceola, Wis., Gregor Main of Danville, Calif., and Anthony Paolucci of Dallas, Texas.

Twitter: @drewjay —

Utah Championship Monday qualifying

At Talons Cove Golf Club, Saratoga Springs

65 • Robert Bell, Pierz, Minn.

66 • Brian Richey, Lakeland, Fla.; Tyler Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif.; Ryan Sullivan, Winston-Salem, N.C.

67 • Riley Arp, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Alexander Kang, Las Vegas; Jeff Berkshire, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Charlie Danielson, Osceola, Wis.; Max Marsico, Las Vegas; Gregor Main, Danville, Calif.; Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas.

Made Playoff

68 • Taylor Schmidt, Boise, Idaho; Dustin Fielding, St. George, Utah; *Matt Baird, Cedar Hills, Utah; Drew Scott, Las Vegas; Chase Lansford, Saratoga Springs, Utah; Shetaro Ban, San Jose, Calif.; Gipper Finau, St. George, Utah; Trent Virden, Reno, Nevada; Zach Johnson, Farmington, Utah; Owen Mahoffey, Indio, Calif.; Mitch Carlson, Las Vegas; Eric Ghim, Glendale, Ariz.; Jake Sarnoff, Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Charlie Harrison, Jupiter, Fla.; Christopher Evans, Shelton, Wash.