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127th Utah State Amateur: Bowen Mauss tops former champion Simon Kwon
Simon Kwon must have known that another title would not be in his future when he made one of the most spectacular pars in tournament history, only to lose another hole to a Bowen Mauss birdie at Logan Country Club.
Sure enough, when they returned to the spectacular setting of the No. 14 green, overlooking First Dam at the mouth of Logan Canyon later Saturday afternoon, Mauss occupied the winner’s chair during the awards presentation of the 127th Utah State Amateur Championship.
Mauss’ 5-and-4 victory in the 36-hole match placed the recent Corner Canyon High School graduate in an elite class of champions who technically were junior golfers at the time. The list starts with the legendary George Von Elm, more than a century ago. Among the other names: Daniel Summerhays, Tony Finau, Zac Blair and Preston Summerhays.
“I’ve wanted to win this for a long time,” Mauss said. “Everyone wants to win this. It’s probably the most talked-about event of the year.”
And as he heads to Arizona State next month, Mauss will try to replace the graduated Preston Summerhays in the Sun Devils’ lineup and continue on his promising trajectory in the game.
“He’s going to do some great things in golf,” Kwon said, “I can guarantee that.”
Kwon’s level of State Am greatness likely topped out at three finals appearances in four years. That’s one of the best runs in modern history, but the BYU fifth-year senior would love to have matched Cougar Coach Bruce Brockbank’s two titles of the 1980s.
Kwon managed to smile about having sat on each side of the trophy table, but the emotions hit home for the 2023 champion as he spoke during the presentation. He later reflected, “You put so much into this. … I give a lot mentally into this. I try to give myself a lot of energy and keep going, so when you put a lot into it, it hurts when it finishes.”
The start favored Kwon. Teeing off with a 16-2 match-play record over the past four State Ams, he won two of the first three holes. Mauss quickly gained control of the match, though. He went 3 up with that birdie on No. 14, which came after Kwon knocked his tee shot out of bounds and somehow made a par with his second ball after the two-stroke penalty. By the 23rd hole, Mauss was 5 up and he barely wavered at any point Saturday.
Bowen Mauss watches his approach shot on hole 13 during the second round of stroke play of the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Colorado Golf Club in Parker, Colorado Aug. 15, 2023. (Chris Keane/USGA)
The experience of playing in the PGA Tour’s Black Desert Championship via a sponsor exemption last October obviously helped Mauss perform well on the State Am stage. He also drew from the 2023 U.S. Amateur in Colorado. Mauss reached the round of 16 before losing to eventual champion Nick Dunlap, who has gone on to win two PGA Tour titles.
“I made it a lot further here, but definitely a lot similar,” he said. “I know I play some of my best golf in match play, so I knew I could beat anyone here if I could beat anyone there.”
Mauss became the second State Am champion to receive an automatic exemption into the U.S. Amateur, starting Aug. 11 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Kwon’s grandfather, Johnny Miller, has a lot of history at Olympic, but Mauss topped Kwon for the berth in the field.
He’s a demonstrative player, known for expecting a lot of himself and reacting to shots that don’t meet his standards. In Saturday’s case, Mauss described himself as “pretty resilient throughout the day.” Jackson Mauss, who caddied for his brother after losing to him in Friday’s quarterfinals, was impressed by Bowen’s demeanor.
Bowen Mauss and brother/caddie, Jackson Mauss.
“Sometimes in match play, it’s more important to be mentally strong than play good, and that’s what he did,” Jackson said. “He was calm all day and didn’t show a lot of emotion, so it was good.”
Two dozen relatives followed the Mauss brothers around Logan CC. They’re all distantly related to the late Jon Mauss, who won the 1965 State Am title and became a longtime PGA Professional in Utah.
127th Utah State Amateur champion Bowen Mauss had plenty of support at Logan Country Club during the championship match.
Kwon expects to turn pro after BYU’s 2025-26 season, while Mauss will be able to defend his title next summer in the 128th State Am at Soldier Hollow Golf Course.
For the complete match play scoring brackets, click here.
Championship match feature story written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.