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119th Utah Women’s State Amateur: BYU golfers finish 1-2 in stroke play
BYU golfer Whitney Banz almost became the only woman to qualify for last summer’s traditional Utah State Amateur, but she double-bogeyed her last hole at Wasatch Mountain Golf Course.
Monday’s stroke-play round of the 119th Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship was another story. Banz not only got past the Lake Course’s tricky No. 9 with a par this time, but she carded five birdies (and one bogey) on the way to a 68 that gave her medalist honors in Midway.
Whitney Banz earned medalist honors with a 4-under 68 at Wasatch Mountain State Park Lake Course to begin the 119th Utah Women’s State Am. (File Photo by Aaron Cornia/BYU Photo)
When the Women’s State Am moved to a 32-golfer bracket for match play in 2021, Banz won two matches as the No. 32 seed. She’ll be No. 1 on Tuesday, after finishing one stroke ahead of Cougar teammate Berlin Long.
Banz, Long and other BYU golfers missed the 2024 Women’s State Am during the Cougars’ summer trip to Ireland.
Six-time champion Kelsey Chugg went out in the morning’s first group (a twosome) and completed a 71 in about 3 hours, ending up with the No. 3 seed. As for the other 2024 semifinalists, runner-up Ali Mulhall has turned pro, while Grace Summerhays (73) and Faith Vui (75) comfortably advanced. So did BYU incoming freshman Aadyn Long (75), Berlin’s sister.
Two-time champion Steph Belnap (77) will be the only senior golfer in the bracket, among five contestants in the starting field of 67.
Two-time Women’s State Amateur champ Stephanie Belnap advanced to the match play Round of 32.
The cut came at 79, 7 over par. Tabiona High School teacher Mikayla Jensen’s par on No. 18 secured the last berth, with no playoff necessary. Jensen played the back nine in 1 over par to make match play for the second time in three years. She’ll face Banz, as the No. 32 seed.
Two rounds of matches will be played Tuesday, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals Wednesday and the 36-hole final Thursday. Utah Golf Association administrators have restored the 36-hole finish. That was standard practice through 1961, before the tournament switched to stroke play for nearly a half-century.
Stroke Play Qualifying results, click here.
119th Utah Women’s State Amateur Stroke Play Qualifying recap written by Fairways Media senior writer, Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media and BYU Sports.