After hitting the tee shot into the left fairway penalty area on the 18th hole at the Country Club in Salt Lake City on Wednesday in a tied game, defending champion Zac Jones thought he needed a “miracle shot” to avoid a major upset and an early departure at 125 states. Amateur Utah.
Instead, BYU’s rookie got what he admitted was a “lucky break,” as Round of 64 opponent Tate McVay took an unfortunate blow that led to a double bogey and what Vernal residents (by way of South Dakota) called “just a brutal finish.”
“It’s definitely a wake-up call. It can also be a huge boost to get a little nerve-wracking and win a tight game early on, so now when I face that later this week, it will be something I’ve already done this week.” – BYU golfer and defending State Am champion Zack Jones.
So the 22-year-old Jones, who claimed the title last year in Soldier Hollow with relatively easy wins in all six matches, moved into the Round of 32 on Thursday, but not without adding a little gray hair to his dad and Clark’s head. .
“It’s definitely a wake-up call,” said Zack Jones. “It can also be a boost to feel a little nerve and win a tight game early on, so now when I get to face that later this week, it’s going to be something I’ve already done this week.”
McVay, 27, a medical sales rep who played collegiately at West Texas A&M, appeared to have the advantage when both golfers hit their approach 40 feet to the right and under the 18th green, with Jones sitting on the 3 and McVay sitting on the 3rd. 2.
However, Jones rose up and down for the bogey, while McVay’s chip rolled in some rough over the hole and got stuck there, instead of backing up near the hole, as he had planned.
He didn’t have a chance to stop his fourth putt anywhere near the hole, then he missed his 20-foot return and Jones sealed the win.
“It just got stuck in there,” McVeigh said. “Sometimes you have luck, sometimes you don’t. … When I saw him hit danger on the 18th, I was licking my chop. But that’s what golf is. What do you do?”
McVay drove 1 after a birdie on the 13th, but Jones answered with birdies on the 14th and 15th to go up 1. McVay then holed the 5th par 17th (Jones made a birdie) to even the match, and appeared to be in command when his putt on the 18th was some short Thing but in the middle of the corridor.
“I had a 7-iron in my hand. No need to miss it at 40 yards,” McVay said. “I thought it was going to flip, but for some reason it just snapped to the right.”
Jones wasn’t ready to call one of the best sequences of his golf career, but he didn’t underestimate the feat either.
“In terms of the toughness and the nerves, I mean, that’s as much nerve as you’re going to get and as much pressure as you’re going to get, so definitely one of the better shots.
“It was tough up and down the rough against a pin tucked on these greens, so it’s definitely one of my ups and downs.”
It was a day or two for the Jones family, as brothers Cooper and Tyler lost close matches, with the BYU-bound younger brother falling 19 holes to Zach Felts and older brother Tyler losing to Elliott Bond.
Stroke Medalist Peter Kim, a Skyline High producer who also signed to play at BYU, passed Eli Rogers, 6 and 5.
First round leader and second seed Davis Johnson, a 20-year-old University of Utah golfer from Scottsdale, Arizona, lost 2-and-1 to veteran amateur David Jennings in a tight match.
“In the end, I was able to play more consistent than him,” said Jennings, a 38-year-old air traffic controller who works graveyard shifts six days a week and plays golf afterwards.
Jennings needed to survive an eight-game playoff in his last two games on Wednesday morning.
He and the aforementioned Rogers advanced, while Peter Ouimet also made it to the second playoff hole, the par-3 par-3 par 10th hole, but made double-bogey after a errant putt on the tee and was eliminated.
“It was terrible (to be in the playoffs),” Jennings said. “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling good about my game because I felt like I played as badly as I could have, and I was really upset that I had to be in the play-off.
“But I’ve had a lot of people text me who were more positive and said, ‘Hey, you’re still in it.'” “
Can one of the older golfers left in the field win it all?
“If I play my game, I’ll have a shot,” Jennings said. “I just need to get out of my own way, and then I think it’s going to be hard to beat. When I feel like I’m in, I feel like I can beat anyone.”
University of Utah golfer Braxton Watts, 21, continued his upward trend with a 3-and-1 win over Will Blanchard, a pre-tournament favorite.
A Farmington High producer, Watts shot an 80 in the first round of stroke play on Monday, then recovered nicely with a smooth 66 on Tuesday.
“I feel like I have a really good chance of winning it, just with how the course is laid out and how much we’re going to play. That’s a huge advantage,” Watts said.
“I think I just need to take advantage of it and play well. I think I have a really good chance of going as far this week.”
The stadium will be reduced from 32 to 8 on Thursday, with Round of 32 matches to start at 7:30 am and quarter-final matches in the afternoon.
Some fun matches to watch Thursday morning include Kim against current BYU player Keanu Akina. 2021 State Am Champion Martin Lyon (a former Utah State golfer who is transferring to Rutgers) vs. Salt Lake City amateur champion Sean Lampropoulos; and Brigham Gibbs against 2008 champion Dan Horner, who needed 21 holes on Wednesday to dethrone Yinxuan Wu.
The results of the round of 64 on Wednesday
upper arch
Peter Kim Dave. Ellie Rogers, 6 and 5
Keanu Akina def. Reid Nielsen 2 and 1
David Licht def. Charlie Taylor, 6 and 5
Kaizen Right Dev. Lance Smith, 1 up
Elijah Turner def. Jack Kummel, 2nd Op
Parker Boone def. Aidan Thain 3 and 2
Zach Felts defeated. Cooper Jones, 19 holes
Jesper von Ridtz Dev. Lincoln Markham, 4 and 2
Oscar Mayfield defeated. Noah Moody, 3 and 2
Rand Sargent Dave. Stephen Croft, 2 and 1
Martin Leon Dave. Luke Crapo, 2 and 1
Shawn Lampropoulos defeated Michael Blackham, 1 up
Cameron Crawford defeated. Gavin Douche, 4 and 3
Andrew Cottle def. Tyson Lund, 2 and 1
Tanner Telford defeat. Thomas Young, 4 and 3
Bowen defeated Moss. Ryan Barber, 3 and 2
bottom bracket
David Jennings def. Davis Johnson, 2 and 1
Josh Howe defeated. Jordan Rodgers, 4 and 3
Brandon Robson Dave. Jake Griffin, 6 and 4
Justin Shulker def. John Cook, 4 and 3
Simon Kwon def. Ryan Bromley 5 and 4
Devin died defeated. Rashawn Williams, 2 and 1
Braxton Watts def. Will Blanchard, 3 and 1
Leo Torres def. Darren Overson, 1 up
Zack Jones defeated. Tate McVay, 1 up
Kenny Palmer defeated. Tyler DeMacy, 4 and 3
Elliot Bond def. Tyler Jones, 3 and 2
Brendan Thomas Dave. Brennan Coburn, 5 and 4
Ricker Dunkley defeated. Hayden Banes, 1 op
He defeated Peyton Hastings. Jeremy Heimas, 3 and 1
Brigham Gibbs Dev. Steele Diewald, 19 holes
Dan Horner def. Yinxuan Wu, 21 holes
Round of 32 matches on Thursday
7:30 a.m. — Peter Kim vs. Keanu Akina
7:39 a.m. – David Lichte vs. Kaisen Wright
7:48 a.m.: Elijah Turner vs. Parker Boone
7:57 a.m. – Zack Felts vs. Jesper von Ridtz
8:06 a.m.: Oscar Mayfield vs. Rand Sargent
8:15 a.m. – Martin Lyon vs. Shawn Lampropoulos
8:24 a.m. – Cameron Crawford vs. Andrew Cottle
8:33 a.m. – Tanner Telford vs. Bowen Moss
8:42 a.m. – David Jennings vs. Josh Howe
8:51 a.m.: Brandon Robson vs. Justin Shockler
9 a.m. – Simon Kwon vs. Devin Tovey
9:09 a.m.: Braxton Watts vs. Leo Torres
9:18 a.m. – Zack Jones vs. Kenny Palmer
9:27 a.m. – Elliott Bond vs. Brendan Thomas
9:36 a.m.: Riker Dunkley vs. Peyton Hastings
9:45 a.m. — Brigham Gibbs vs. Dan Horner