Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

The first round of match play at the 2023 Utah State Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Sugarhouse was certainly no walk in the park for golfers with Utah Valley ties.

Just about all of them found themselves in dogfights as they attempted to overcome both the challenges of the course and good competition.

Elijah Turner, who just finished his senior year at BYU, found himself locked in a tied match with Salt Lake City’s Jack Kuemmel heading into Hole No. 16 — and he was in the sand trap while Jack was just off the front of the green.

But even though his situation didn’t appear to be ideal, Turner said he felt confident in where he was at.

“No. 16 was a big hole,” Turner said. “I didn’t hit a very good tee shot but it was a pretty simple bunker shot up the hill. Luckily I trust my bunker game and I hit it close, then made the putt.”

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

Thanks to a good sand shot, both golfers got pars on No. 16 to stay tied. It was on No. 17 where things started going Turner’s way.

“I hit a great drive, a great second shot and then luckily I two-putted,” Turner said. “It was really about who made mistakes coming down the stretch and luckily it wasn’t me. Jack played great and it was a hard-fought match.”

He seized the lead by winning the hole and forcing Kuemmel to be more aggressive on No. 18, hoping to even things up. His tee shot, however, ended up putting him in a tough spot and Turner secured the 2-up win by closing with a par.

“It was a great match but it was really just average or even below-average golf,” Turner said. “My putting was suspect all day and it took me four holes before I got a good swing.”

He said he felt like it took a few holes to get into match-play mentality.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

“You are playing the course but honestly you are just playing one guy in match play,” Turner said. “If he hits a great shot, then you need to hit a great shot. But if he has a bad shot, you just need to get it in play to where you can make a par. Obviously you want to have a ton of birdies and be aggressive, but you just have to beat one person.”

While there was uncertainty for Turner coming down the stretch, it was even more intense for BYU golfer Zac Jones.

The defending state amateur champion found himself tied with Tate McVay of Vernal after McVay eagled No. 17.

Then things got crazy on No. 18.

“We both made some mistakes off the tee on No. 18,” Jones said. “He popped his up but I hooked mine into the hazard, so I was dropping back where he was. Neither of us really had any shot of getting it on the green as we tried to hook it around the trees.”

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

Because of the drop, Jones was hitting his fourth shot from the rough below the hole while McVay lined up to do the same thing with his third shot.

But then it was McVay who got the bad break.

After Jones dropped his shot onto the green a few feet from the hole, McVay’s pitch rolled up the hill on the far side of the green just far enough to get caught in the long grass.

“If his had not caught the rough, his ball would’ve been down near mine,” Jones said. “It was kind of a bad break and I took advantage.”

McVay’s chip rolled well past the hole, then he needed two putts to get back. Jones rolled his shot in to get the 1-up win with a bogey.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

Jones hopes that the narrow win is a wake-up call and he plays better in future rounds.

“It’s tough when you play a battle of a match in the first round,” Jones said. “It takes a bit of a toll on your mental game. I felt like I wasn’t very focused at the beginning and it almost came back to bite me.

“But I think it is also a momentum boost. To feel some nerves and win a tight match early on means that when I face it later, I’ll have already experienced it.”

Jones’s Cougar teammate Keanu Akina also had to stay strong late to get the 2-and-1 win over Reed Nielsen of Layton.

Future BYU golfer Peter Kim (who was the lower score in stroke play) was able to dominate his match against Eli Rogers of Bluffdale, setting up a match with Akina in the Round of 32.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

American Fork’s Ryker Dunkley also advanced, edging Salt Lake City’s Hayden Banz, 1-up.

Things didn’t go as well for a lot of other Utah Valley area golfers as Zac Jones’s older brother Tyler Jones, his younger brother Cooper Jones, Darrin Overson of Provo, future Cougar golfer Yinxuan Wu, former BYU golfer Jordan Rodgers, Alpine’s Ryan Barber, Pleasant Grove’s Jake Griffin and Vinyard’s Noah Moody all lost on Wednesday.

The golfers who did win now turn their attention to facing more tough matches on Thursday. Both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches are scheduled to be played, making for a long day with only eight golfers making it through.

“I’m a scoreboard watcher,” Turner said with a grin. “I like to see who I might be playing and to know who other people are playing. I’ve always loved it.”

All of the matches will be played at The Country Club in Sugarhouse with the first golfers starting Thursday at 7:30 a.m.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

For live scoring and complete details, go to http://UGA.org.

Former Lone Peak and UVU golfer Ryan Barber hits a drive during the first round of match play of the 2023 Utah State Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Sugarhouse on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

BYU golfer Zac Jones putts the ball during the first round of match play of the 2023 Utah State Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Sugarhouse on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

Former Lone Peak golfer Cooper Jones tees off during the first round of match play of the 2023 Utah State Amateur Championship at The Country Club in Sugarhouse on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

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