Players are talking about fast greens and windy afternoons as the return of the world’s oldest continuous golf tournament to Soldier Hollow brings in qualifying amateurs for daily competition this week. The 128th annual Utah Amateur Golf champion will be crowned after 36 holes of match play on Sa turday. “It’s never had an off year,” said Easton Folster, the Utah Golf Association’s executive director. “The reason we’re able to claim that is the British Open is older, the US Open is older, but they took breaks for the world wars, and frankly, the pandemic in 2020, while we’ve never had a break.” Soldier Hollow’s 36 holes make the course well-suited for high-volume events such as this 288-competitor field. Monday and Tuesday contained 18 holes of daily stroke play, with each golfer alternating between Soldier Hollow’s mountainous Gold and shallower Silver courses while switching between cooler morning and windy afternoon tee times. The initial field thinned to 64 for match play starting Wednesday.  2025 champion Bowen Mauss is back defending his title, along with seven other returning champions. On Tuesday, Angus Klintworth from Red Ledges stood atop the leadership board with a total to par gross of -9, followed by Austin Shelley at -8 and Ben Wilson at -7. On Friday morning, quarterfinalists step out of the carts for two rounds of walking all-day play before Saturday’s 36-hole two-player championship. The winner receives a sponsor’s exemption for the PGA tour stop at St. George in October. Soldier Hollow is hosting the competition for the eighth time. Event champion Tony Finau’s son, Jraice Finau, was the youngest competitor at age 14. He lasted through Tuesday. Twenty years ago, his father won the 2006 Utah Amateur title at Soldier Hollow against fellow future PGA pro Daniel Summerhays. Red Ledges local Brian Jennings was competing in the amateur championship for the second time in three years after moving to Utah from Texas. At 40, he is toward the older end of the competitor spectrum. He took up golf in his 30s. He had been practicing at Soldier Hollow in the weeks leading up to the event, but found that a fresh contest trim made for a different putting experience. He practiced at the driving range Tuesday morning before a 1:30 tee time with partner Cody Kent after their third withdrew during a poor Monday performance.  “I can still hit the ball pretty far, so I can keep up length-wise and I just enjoy the competitive nature of really anything, but of golf especially, so it’s my competitive outlet in life,” Jennings said. “I like the process of improving and getting better. Golf is very challenging, so a lot of time it’s two steps forward, one step back with that process.” Jennings shot +3 in stroke play and missed the match play cut. Wendy Debry stood by the 10th tee, watching son Jake Debry practice his left-handed putting. The ascending sophomore at Westminster College has three fellow teammates competing through the week. Wendy carried a small foldable chair, but she said there wasn’t much time for sitting as a spectator who must keep up with the cart-traveling players on foot while helping chase down errant balls, which earned her 7.5 miles along the Gold course on Monday. Debry shot a +15 and missed the cut. As the competition refines itself throughout the week, Folster has found that a common goal motivates golfers of all success levels and the Utah Golf Association at large. “You’re trying to beat par at the end of the day,” Folster said. “It’s the challenge to find perfection that will never be found in golf.” The post Utah Amateur Golf Championship endures at Soldier Hollow this week appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less