Utah Golfers in the 2013 US Open

The US Open is being played this week at Merion Golf Club in Haverford Township near Ardmore, Pennsylvania. In the field this week are two golfers who live in Utah. Jay Don Blake, a Champions Tour regular and St. George, Utah native, emerged out of the field of 42 at the St. Louis qualifier that was battling for two spots to play in the 2013 U.S. Open. Blake posted the lowest 18-hole score of the day to distance himself from the pack. At 54 years old, Jay Don is the oldest player in the field this week.

Also in the field is Mike Weir. Weir, a resident of Draper, Utah and former BYU golfer, gained entry into the US Open field by finishing as the first alternate at the Columbus, Ohio qualifier and ultimately made it into the field with 5 spots open for alternates. Weir, who is also a former Masters champion, has been trying to rebuild his game after 3 years of elbow injuries and poor play. He has recently shown signs that his game is coming around.

As a St. George native and former BYU Cougar, I will be cheering for both Blake and Weir to have successful weeks and hopefully contend for the US Open title. Go Mike and Jay Don!

2011 Northern Trust Open

I am a little slow getting this on the blog, but I figured I would share it anyway. Last month I took a break from "tax season" to go enjoy a little piece of heaven. The piece of heaven I am referring to is the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Riviera CC is the host course of the Northern Trust Open, one of the PGA Tour's premier events on the west coast swing early in the season.

I went with a couple of buddies and spent four days living the high life. We got to watch some unbelievable golf and meet some of the tour players. We met Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Mike Weir, Ryan Moore, Dean Wilson and Daniel Summerhays to name a few. It was fun talking to Daniel Summerhays. Like Mike Weir and Dean Wilson, Summerhays is a former BYU Cougar. He talked with us for a few minutes after he finished his second round. He seemed like a pretty cool guy.

Unfortunately, the fun had to come to an end. But we have already started planning the trip for next year. By the way, Aaron Baddeley won the tournament this year!