Provo • Zac Blair’s answer came in response to a question about another golf event, but it covers his motivation for entering the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open: “Why wouldn’t I play?”
Blair’s reasoning applies to the tournament that starts Friday at Riverside Country Club and to the four-event Web.com Tour Finals, beginning next week at Columbus, Ohio. It is golf, after all. Blair would be playing somewhere this weekend, so why not in Provo? Riverside was his home course during his BYU career, and his father, Jimmy, competes in the Utah Open nearly every year.
The purse for the 54-hole tournament has been increased to $119,000 with different distribution, lowering the first prize to $20,000. Blair would have been playing for a winner’s check of $1.575 million in the Northern Trust event, part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but he fell out of the PGA Tour’s top 125 by one spot last weekend. As he confirmed in that four-word text message, he’ll try to gain more access to the 2017-18 schedule that starts in October by playing in the Web.com Tour Finals.
First comes the Utah Open, with multiple precedents for Blair’s participation. He won the Sand Hollow Open in southern Utah each of the past two Septembers, after being knocked out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. In the 1980s, the Utah Open often was played the same week as The International in Colorado, with a unique first-day cut. PGA Tour players with Utah ties commonly came to Willow Creek Country Club if they were eliminated.
Two-time PGA Tour winner Keith Clearwater is paired with Blair and Steve Schneiter in the first two rounds at Riverside. Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, and former BYU teammate Dean Wilson also are entered.
Lea Garner, who won the inaugural Utah Women’s Open last Sunday at East Bay Golf Course in Provo, is paired with her brother Davis, winner of the Utah Section PGA Match Play Championship.
Colorado pro Zahkai Brown is the defending champion, and 2016 runner-up Ty Travis of Idaho also is entered. Among Utah pros, Joe Parkinson tied for fifth place last year and Craig Hocknull, Tommy Sharp, Tracy Zobell and Seokwon Jeon also finished in the top 10.
Riverside assistant pro Chris Moody, who played in this month’s PGA Championship, and teaching pro Matt Baird will be local favorites. Some current BYU golfers, including Patrick Fishburn and CJ Lee, should contend. Fishburn opened last year’s tournament by tying the course record with a 62, but faded to a tie for fifth.
