Utah State Am reaches quarterfinal match play
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- Former Timpanogos High School star Noah Moody, left, and his caddie and close friend Kaden Linford share a moment after Moody earned a par in his match with Cameron Crawford in the semifinals of the 128th Utah State Am in Midway on Friday, July 10, 2026.
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- Defending champion Bowen Mauss competes in the Utah State Am in Midway on Friday, July 10, 2026. (Courtesy Fairways Media)
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- Noah Moody rolls a birdie attempt on hole No. 3 in the semifinals of the 128th Annual State Am in Midway on Friday, July 10, 2026.
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- Former Lehi High School standout KJ Ofahengaue sinks a critical par putt in his semifinal match against defending champion Bowen Mauss at the Utah State Am in Midway on Friday, July 10, 2026.
A field of 288 golfers qualified for the State Am held at Soldier Hollow with the field being trimmed to 64 for match play.
In reality, the most important thing is to just make the cut because there is just a razor’s thin edge that separates these top quality players. In fact, the top seed Ben Wilson was eliminated 3 and 2 by No. 64 seed Krew Labrum on Wednesday.
By the time Friday’s quarterfinal play started the highest seeded golfer remaining was No. 6 seed Jackson Mauss while Carter Frisby barely made it into the match play field as the No. 61 seed.
Quarterfinal round: When No. 10 seed Noah Moody fell down two holes in his quarterfinal match against No. 15 seed Kanyon DeRyke, there was absolutely no panic from the former Timpanogos High standout who currently plays for Utah State.
It wasn’t like Moody was playing poorly, he started off with two pars while DeRyke made birdies. But then Moody turned it on winning the next three holes and five of the next six to take a commanding 3-up lead.
DeRyke cut into that with a birdie on the ninth hole with a birdie. But Moody birdied the 10th and 12th holes while both golfers parred the 13th leaving Moody 4-up with just five holes to play.
DeRyke made it interesting with three straight birdies to trim Moody’s lead to 1-up but then Moody finished it out with a spectacular hole out eagle on the 18th to win 2-up.
Both golfers played well as this match was one that won rather than lost. Both carded a 31 on the back nine while Moody shot a 33 on the front nine to VanRyke’s 35.
Meanwhile, two golfers with Utah County ties were in the group ahead and their match was much tighter throughout.
Former Lehi golf star KJ Ofahengaue, now playing at Utah Tech, was in a tight showdown with former Skyridge High’s Carter Frisby, who now plays for the University of Idaho.
It took five holes before No. 37 seed Ofahengaue took a lead with a birdie on the fifth hole. But Ofahengaue struggled on the seventh allowing Frisby to tie up the match. Then Ofahengaue took the lead again with a birdie on the ninth to only have Frisby tie up the match with a par on the 10th hole.
Ofahengaue then countered back with a birdie on 11th to go 1-up. The two golfers halved the next four holes before Ofahengaue took a 2-up lead with a birdie on hole No. 16.
Frisby made it interesting with a birdie on the 17th hole to make it 1-up for the Utah Tech golfer but then Ofahengaue finished it off on the 18th with a birdie to win 2-up.
No. 9 seed David Liechty, who played at Utah Tech last season but is transferring to BYU, took on defending champion Bowen Mauss, the No. 49 seed after medalist play, and it was a classic that took 19 holes to determine the outcome. But in the end Mauss advanced to play Ofahengaue in the semifinals.
Both golfers played impressively with 5-under rounds of 67.
Liechty did have a 1-up lead as the two players went to the 18th tee. But Mauss, who plays for Arizona State, got the needed birdie to take it to extra holes and then won it with a par on the first playoff hole.
This gave Mauss the chance to check on his older brother Jackson, the No. 9 seed, who was in an extra hole playoff of his own with No. 46 seed Cameron Crawford. But Crawford prevented both brothers from moving on to semifinals as he outlasted Jackson Mauss winning in 23 holes. This set up an afternoon match with Moody to see who move on to the 36-hole championship final on Saturday.
A field of 288 golfers qualified for the 128th State Am held at Soldier Hollow with the field being trimmed to 64 for match play.
In reality, the most important thing is to just make the cut because there is just a razor’s thin edge that separates these top quality players. In fact, the top seed Ben Wilson was eliminated 3 and 2 by No. 64 seed Krew Labrum on Wednesday.
By the time Friday’s quarterfinal play started the highest seeded golfer remaining was No. 6 seed Jackson Mauss while Carter Frisby barely made it into the match play field as the No. 61 seed.
Quarterfinal round: When No. 10 seed Noah Moody fell down two holes in his quarterfinal match against No. 15 seed Kanyon DeRyke, there was absolutely no panic from the former Timpanogos High standout who currently plays for Utah State.
It wasn’t like Moody was playing poorly, he started off with two pars while DeRyke made birdies. But then Moody turned it on winning the next three holes and five of the next six to take a commanding 3-up lead.
DeRyke cut into that with a birdie on the ninth hole with a birdie. But Moody birdied the 10th and 12th holes while both golfers parred the 13th leaving Moody 4-up with just five holes to play.
DeRyke made it interesting with three straight birdies to trim Moody’s lead to 1-up but then Moody finished it out with a spectacular hole out eagle on the 18th to win 2-up. The tees were moved up to make it drivable and Moody took advantage.
Both golfers played well as this match was one that won rather than lost. Both carded a 31 on the back nine while Moody shot a 33 on the front nine to VanRyke’s 35.
Meanwhile, two golfers with Utah County ties were in the group ahead and their match was much tighter throughout.
Former Lehi golf star KJ Ofahengaue, now playing at Utah Tech, was in a tight showdown with former Skyridge High’s Carter Frisby, who now plays for the University of Idaho.
It took five holes before No. 37 seed Ofahengaue took a lead with a birdie on the fifth hole. But Ofahengaue struggled on the seventh allowing Frisby to tie up the match. Then Ofahengaue took the lead again with a birdie on the ninth to only have Frisby tie up the match with a par on the 10th hole.
Ofahengaue then countered back with a birdie on 11th to go 1-up. The two golfers halved the next four holes before Ofahengaue took a 2-up lead with a birdie on hole No. 16.
Frisby made it interesting with a birdie on the 17th hole to make it 1-up for the Utah Tech golfer but then Ofahengaue finished it off on the 18th with a birdie to win 2-up.
No. 9 seed David Liechty, who played at Utah Tech last season but is transferring to BYU, took on defending champion Bowen Mauss, the No. 49 seed after medalist play, and it was a classic that took 19 holes to determine the outcome. But in the end Mauss advanced to play Ofahengaue in the semifinals.
Both golfers played impressively with 5-under rounds of 67.
Liechty did have a 1-up lead as the two players went to the 18th tee. But Mauss, who plays for Arizona State, got the needed birdie to take it to extra holes and then won it with a par on the first playoff hole.
This gave Mauss the chance to check on his older brother Jackson, the No. 9 seed, who was in an extra hole playoff of his own with No. 46 seed Cameron Crawford. But Crawford, a resident of Cedar Hills, prevented both brothers from moving on to semifinals as he outlasted Jackson Mauss winning in 23 holes. This set up an afternoon match with Moody to see who would move on to the 36-hole championship final on Saturday.
Semi-final round: Cameron Crawford eagled the driveable 18th hole to take a 1-up victory over Noah Moody. Credit must be given to Crawford for his stamina as he played 41 holes since his quarterfinal match went 23 holes before he pulled out the victory. With temperatures approaching 100 degrees, Crawford stayed cool when it mattered and came back against Moody after falling behind 2-up after 11 holes.
In the other semifinal Bowen Mauss defeated KJ Ofahengaue 3 and 2 and is one match away from winning his second straight Utah State Am. .
