JEREMY RANCH, Utah – Utah State's Andy Hess and Cameron Tucker are tied for 30th and 39th, respectively, following the first day of stroke qualifying Tuesday at the 122nd Utah State Amateur Championship at the Jeremy Ranch Golf & Country Club (JRGCC).
Mitchell Schow is the clubhouse leader at 6-under 66.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the field for the annual State Am was cut in half this year with 144 golfers competing to grab 32 match-play spots. The tournament, which was originally scheduled for late June, features two days of stroke-play qualifying, followed by match play, which begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.
"It was tough today," Hess said. "The wind was blowing, which didn't make things easy. I hit the ball well, my short game was sharp, and my putting was good. Aside from one hole, I was very happy with the round and how I grinded it out."
Opening his day on No. 10, Hess parred the first two holes before making birdie on the 453-yard par-4 12th. Another birdie on the 521-yard par-5 16th moved Hess to 2-under for his round.
The native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, then went bogey-par-triple bogey-bogey over his next four holes. Hess closed strong, though, making two birdies down the stretch to finish at 1-over 73 for the day.
"I finished 2-under on my last five holes, including a birdie on my finishing hole, which was great because the round kind of got away from me on the beginning of my back nine," Hess said. "To finish like that and get some positive momentum going into tomorrow is a great feeling."
When Tucker, who shot a 2-over 74, teed off at 8:20 a.m. on Tuesday, he was not fortunate enough to have ideal playing conditions.
"My day was pretty solid, but it was only about 35 degrees when I first started and the wind was blowing a good portion of the round," Tucker said. "I wanted to get off the tee well and make some putts today, as well as play the par-5's well. I was two for three on those goals. I pretty much hit every tee shot exactly how I wanted to and was always in a good spot off the tee.
"Unfortunately, I just couldn't make anything. I had a lot of really good birdie looks that I didn't take advantage of. The few birdies I did have were tap-ins on the par-5's, which is nice, but it would have been nicer to make a few longer putts. I also hit a couple of poor iron shots that I didn't get up and down, but it was a solid day all things considered. I struck the ball really well, which was good."
Tucker birdied three of JRGCC's par-5's, including his finishing hole, the 500-yard ninth.
"Overall, I like where I'm at heading into tomorrow," Tucker said. "But, I am going to have to shoot a few shots better to get into match play."
Tucker begins the final day of stroke-play qualifying on Wednesday at 1:20 p.m. His group, which includes Ali Hameed (3-over 75) and Boston Watts (10-over 82), will tee off on the 370-yard par-4 first hole.
Hess also tees off on No. 1, but at 9:30 a.m. His group includes Hayden Christensen (2-under 70) and Reed Nielsen (7-over 79).
Former Aggie Chase Lansford, who graduated from Utah State this past spring with a degree in exercise science, opened with a 4-over 76 and is tied for 54th. A year ago, Lansford lost to two-time defending champion Preston Summerhays, 7 and 6, in the championship match at Soldier Hollow.
Two more former Aggies, Brock Stanger (now at BYU) and Hayden Banz (now at Weber State), are also in the field of 144. Both opened with a 2-under 70 and are tied for seventh.
Jason Wight is the last Aggie to capture the State Am title, doing so in 1995 at the Logan Golf & Country Club. His 5 and 4 victory over Utah's John Tagge marked the third straight year a USU golfer had won the event.
Fans can follow Utah State's golf program on Facebook at facebook.com/USUMensGolf and on Twitter at @USUMensGolf.
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September 02, 2020 at 10:25AM
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Utah State Golfers Andy Hess, Cameron Tucker Compete On Day 1 Of 122nd Utah State Amateur Championship - Utah State Aggies
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