{"id":1005686,"date":"2026-08-17T03:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T03:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005686\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T03:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T03:00:17","slug":"former-utah-golfer-blake-tomlinson-captures-2nd-utah-open-title-in-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1005686\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Utah golfer Blake Tomlinson captures 2nd Utah Open title in 5 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

PROVO \u2014 Four years ago, Blake Tomlinson<\/a> won the Utah Open title to launch a professional career for the University of Utah golf standout to Canada and the PGA Tour Americas.<\/p>\n

After spending the past year playing mostly state opens and Monday qualifiers, he’s hopeful a second win might do the same thing.<\/p>\n

Tomlinson shot 5-under-par 67 Sunday to finish with a three-day total of 21-under 195 and clinch his second Larry H. Miller Utah Open and the $25,000 winners’ check at Riverside Country Club.<\/p>\n

Tomlinson is the second two-time Utah Open champion of the past six years, joining Colorado pro Derek Fribbs<\/a> (2021, 2024) who finished tied for ninth Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Salt Lake City native who starred at Skyline High and the Utah junior golf circuit fended off a challenging final day when as many as five golfers took or shared the lead over the final 18 holes.<\/p>\n

Former BYU golfers Cole Ponich and Rhett Rasmussen tied for second at 19-under, two shots ahead of former Olympus golfer John Fox.<\/p>\n

Tyson Shelley ended his first pro tournament at 16-under, tied for fifth with fellow BYU alum Carson Lundell. That was one stroke better than fellow rookie Simon Kwon, who shot 15-under to tie low amateur Peter Kim ahead of the BYU rising senior’s college season.<\/p>\n

“Winning once is great, but twice is even better,” said Tomlinson in a room surrounded by local media he’s known since his youth as well as friends, family and his girlfriend Kate who caddied for him all weekend. “This feels really nice.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had kind of a brutal year with some injuries and Monday qualifiers not going my way. It’s really good momentum going into Q-school this fall \u2014 and it’s always nice to win.”<\/p>\n

Tomlinson slept on a 36-hole lead<\/a>, but Lundell, who shared a four-way tie atop the leaderboard after 18 holes, fired three birdies and an eagle to lead by two strokes after eight holes.<\/p>\n

Tomlinson eagled the par-5, 558-yard seventh hole to balance two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine for a recovery, then added his fourth birdie on the par-5, 584-yard 15th that he claimed as a key turning point of the round.<\/p>\n

“The chip-in on 10 was also very good,” he said. “I was off and running from there.”<\/p>\n

But the challengers weren’t done, either.<\/p>\n

Ponich, the Davis High alum from Farmington who grew up on the links alongside Tomlinson, roared to nine birdies and an eagle to finish the final round at 10-under 62. His eagle on the par-5, 584-yard 15th hole captured momentum, a birdie on the par-3, 179-yard 17th sustained it, and Ponich again looked to capitalize on an 18th hole that he estimated he’s played hundreds of times in practice rounds and qualifiers at BYU.<\/p>\n

“I was a little stale with the putter the last two days, and to get some putts to go in today gave me a lot of confidence,” Ponich said.<\/p>\n

Ponich had a 12-foot uphill putt for birdie on No. 18 that would’ve tied Tomlinson for the lead down the final stretch. But the Farmington native “slightly toed” the putt before saving par.<\/p>\n

“Blake making birdie on No. 18 makes me feel better, though,” added Ponich, who collected $13,500 in winnings. “That birdie wouldn’t have mattered too much.”<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer BYU golfer Cole Ponich, right, finished second at the 100th Larry H. Miller Utah Open, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 at Riverside Country Club in Provo. (Photo: Sean Walker, KSL.com)<\/p>\n

Kim shot 7-under 65 to hold off Morgan High rising junior Jace Benson and BYU teammate Jackson Mauss for low amateur honors, carding seven birdies in a bogey-free round that included a chip-in on the par-5, 557-yard 13th hole and a tap-in birdie one hole later.<\/p>\n

“My wedges and chipping was working really well, and I made a couple of putts,” said Kim, a rising senior from Skyline High who has two years of eligibility remaining under the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model.<\/p>\n

“It’s nice momentum going into the season, and playing on our home course is fun with a bunch of familiar faces. It was fun to compete against each other, a bunch of teammates and past players; it’s a good kickstart to the season.”<\/p>\n

Spanish Fork’s Jackson Rhees won the Utah Section PGA sidebar purse for $1,500 at 14-under, three shots ahead of Sandy’s Todd Tanner and former champion Pete Stone.<\/p>\n

Larry H. Miller Utah OpenAugust 16, 2026<\/p>\n

Top 10<\/strong><\/p>\n