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Local golf: State Am champ Fishburn ties course record, leads Utah Open

Utah Open • He opens with a 62 at Riverside Country Club.

Provo • A year after former BYU star Jordan Rodgers just missed becoming the first golfer since Ed Kingsley in 1934 to win the Utah Open title the same summer that he won the State Amateur, a current Cougar star is threatening to pull off the historic feat.

State Am champion Patrick Fishburn, who will be a junior at BYU this fall, tied the course record at Riverside Country Club with a 10-under-par 62 on Friday in the opening round of the 54-hole Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.

His round in the morning when winds were considerably calmer than in the afternoon featured nine birdies, an eagle and a bogey. It tied the 62 that St. George's Jay Don Blake shot in the State Am at Riverside in 1980 and the 62 that Utah pro Dusty Fielding posted in the final round here last year.

Fishburn has a four-shot lead over professionals Kane Webber, Zahkai Brown, Ty Travis, Jesse Mueller and Brandon Kida heading into Saturday's second round. Kida recently turned pro after exhausting his eligibility at the University of Utah. Webber and Brown are from Colorado, Travis is from Boise, Idaho, and Mueller is from Phoenix.

At 67 are Jake Ellison, a former BYU golfer who now lives in Las Vegas, and Park City's Craig Hocknull.

Because he is an amateur, Ogden's Fishburn can't claim the $21,000 check that goes to the winner after Sunday's final round, but he can put his name on the trophy and become the first non-professional to win the Utah Open since Weber State's Greg Buckway in 2004.

Playing on the BYU golf team's home course, where he has played hundreds of times, Fishburn overwhelmed Riverside, playing the four par-5s in 5-under par. He made an eagle on the par-5 7th hole, sinking a 20-foot putt.

"I can usually hit a lot of fairways and greens, but the key today was making putts," said the 6-foot-4 Fishburn, whose prodigious length is legendary in the Utah golf community. "I just felt good with the putter. It was crazy."

Fishburn said he lipped out four or five other putts, or he'd have sole ownership of the course record on a track that has also hosted Tiger Woods, David Duval and John Daly.

"It seems like every putt I missed was still close to going in," Fishburn said. "I played well in all aspects."

Just like when he stormed to the State Am title last month at Alpine Country Club, Fishburn bombed the ball all day with his driver — he doesn't even carry a 3-wood — and dominated Riverside, which is a bit tougher this summer after some recent course renovations.

"My goal is to birdie every single hole no matter what score I am at," he said. "I just like to play aggressively, bomb the driver and try to make birdies and eagles."

Rodgers, who won the 2015 State Am at Soldier Hollow and then finished second to Nathan Lashley at last year's Utah Open, shot a 69 Friday and is tied for 16th. The group tied for ninth at 68 includes Farmington amateur Cole Ponich, Sandy's Todd Tanner and Riverside's own Chris Moody.

The total purse is $135,000. The low 60 players, plus ties, will make the cut after Saturday's second round.

drew@sltrib.com

Twitter: @drewjay

Mike Stansfield | Fairways Media Patrick Fishburn (-10) 62, the Utah State Amateur champion, tied the Riverside Country Club course record on Friday August 26, 2016 during the opening round of the 90th Utah Open Championship.

Mike Stansfield | Fairways Media Patrick Fishburn (-10) 62, the Utah State Amateur champion, tied the Riverside Country Club course record on Friday August 26, 2016 during the opening round of the 90th Utah Open Championship.