Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank
Course Insight
The Golf Club at Thanksgiving Point plays around 55-acre Ashton Gardens. The course measures 7,677 yards, but doesn’t play quite that long because the ball flies farther at an elevation of about 4,500 feet. The Johnny Miller design features a lot of elevation changes and big greens with multiple tiers, making it essential to hit the right section of the putting surface. Several holes require long carries off the tee over the Jordan River and the signature downhill par-3 17th also crosses the river. Water doesn’t come into play much otherwise, but there are many bunkers on the course.
“The victories seem to be a little sweeter after all the near-misses.”
- Patton Kizzire
How Patton Kizzire Won 2015
Patton Kizzire survived a roller-coaster final round and defeated Sung Kang in a playoff for his first victory of 2015 after two runner-up finishes to go with nine earlier second-place showings on various mini-tours. Kizzire led by two strokes entering the final round, lost the lead on the first two holes, went up by four at the turn, and then was tied by Kang’s back-nine charge. Kang had five birdies for a 31 on the incoming nine, but Kizzire was able to take the title when he made a three-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole. Kizzire had taken control of the tournament with a second-round 62 that included eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch. His 129 total for 36 holes gave him a four-stroke lead. A 71 in the third round cut that lead in half, followed by a 69 in the final round for a 19-under 269 total.- Runner-up Sung Kang was the only player with four sub-70 rounds (68-66-68-67).
