"Was it a Titleist?" - Blake Tomlinson aced a 358-yard par-4 Sunday
Winning your city championship. Sounds nice doesn't it?
On Sunday in Salt Lake City, resident Blake Tomlinson was standing on the 8th tee after making back-to-back bogeys and with the damp and windy weather worsening. But that wind was at his back. And while the hole measures 358 yards, the altitude of 4200 feet makes the green even more reachable.
“I just knew I needed to step up and hit a good drive,” he told the Salt Lake City Tribune. “That’s what crossed my mind.”
What crossed his group's other players minds as the drive headed towards the green was that it wasn't just long enough, it was straight enough too.
"Go in!" one of them said, according to Tomlinson. Those are probably the two words you would most like to have your playing partners see after they watch you hit a shot.
Much to Tomlinson's disbelief, the ball found the cup and turned his entire day around. A 60-foot birdie putt on No. 9 for a front nine of 32. Three birdies on the back nine against just a single bogey (as the weather got worse) led to a 66 and 5-under tournament total.
Starting the day four shots behind, Tomlinson hoped his score would hold up, but didn't know just how good a 66 was in Sunday's weather. In fact, he was the only player to break 70.
In college tournaments, “I tend to play well in bad weather,” he said, citing “a lot of mental toughness and a lot of faith in my game.”
The University of Utah Junior won the 2019 Bandon Dunes Collegiate Championship at 4-under, conquering the typically cool, windy, and occasionally wet Coastal Oregon spring weather.
David Timmins and Tyson Shelley finished two strokes back at 3-under 141. The pair had shared the first-round lead Saturday at 69 with Zach Jones and David Jennings, and again posted the same score (72) on Sunday.
Jones posted a 73 and tied for fourth place with Ute golfer Mitchell Schow (72-70), the 2018 champion. Tomlinson became the third player in history to win both the Salt Lake City Open and Salt Lake City Amateur.
For the next year, call him "City Champ."
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ABOUT THE
Salt Lake City Amateur
One of the most popular tournaments in Utah that
always fills up quickly. Most of the state’s top
amateurs
will be in the 100-player championship flight, with
another 100 or so in the A and B flights. 36 holes of
stroke play.
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