Provo • BYU senior Patrick Fishburn made back-to-back bogeys in the middle of his round Friday, so he just reminded himself that plenty of birdie holes were ahead of him on the Cougars’ home course.
And he kept finding them. Fishburn finished with 11 birdies at Riverside Country Club, posting a 9-under-par 63 in the opening round of the 54-hole Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open.
Fishburn took a two-stroke lead over California pro Edward Olson. Idaho’s Ty Travis, the 2016 runner-up, and Arizona pro Riley Arp were next at 66. PGA Tour player Zac Blair posted a 68 and Riverside teaching pro Matt Baird is the top Utah Section PGA member at 69.
If Fishburn’s story sounds familiar, it should. He started the Utah Open last August by tying the course record of 62, although he faded with a 71-73 finish to tie for fifth place. Known for his long driving and aggressive style, Fishburn will make only this concession for his weekend rounds: nothing “stupid,” he said.
That’s an unspoken reference to last year’s final-round misadventures that included an attempt to hit a ball out of the pond near the No. 15 green, although that gamble didn’t really cost him the tournament. Fishburn was trying to become the first golfer in 82 years to win both the State Amateur and the Utah Open in the same summer.
“You definitely learn something each time you get in a situation like this,” he said.
This year, Fishburn was upset in the State Am semifinals on his childhood course, Ogden Golf & Country Club. So he would love to come through at Riverside. Only one amateur, Weber State’s Greg Buckway, has won the Utah Open since BYU’s Michael Brannan did so at Riverside in 1975.
Blair also enjoys good vibes on this course after playing for BYU, but he made a sloppy bogey on the par-4 No. 14 and failed to birdie two of the four par-5s. He loves to play golf so much that he’s willing to live with the pressure of performing at this level as a PGA Tour player and with the perception that he’s potentially taking money away from golfers who need it. Then again, the first $52,000 of the purse went to out-of-state pros last year, so Blair’s presence in the field just elevates the tournament.
“You’re never going to please everyone,” he said. “You don’t get too many chances to play at your home course.”
Blair will tee off next week in Columbus, Ohio, to begin the four-event Web.com Tour Finals in an effort to improve his PGA Tour status for the 2017-18 schedule. He finished 126th in the FedEx Cup standings, barely failing to make the Playoffs and retain full access for the coming season.
Asked if gearing up mentally for the Web.com Tour stint is difficult, Blair said, “Not at all. That’s why you play, to go compete and keep your job and that kind of stuff. I’m ready to go, looking forward to it.”
First-round results of the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open at the par-72 Riverside Country Club (a-amateur):63 – a-Patrick Fishburn. 65 – Edward Olson. 66 – Ty Travis, Riley Arp. 67 – Austyn Karle, Blake Cannon, Jesse Mueller. 68 – Mitchell Carlson, Neil Johnson, Zac Blair, Galum Hill, Gregor Main, Luke Vivolo. 69 – Matt Baird, James Drew, B.J. Staten. 70 – Pete Fernandez, Tyler Weworski, Chad Pettingill, Brandon Kida, a-Cole Ponich, a-Rhett Rasmussen, Zahkai Brown, Tele Wightman. 71 – Dusty Fielding, Travis Hofland, Joe Parkinson, a-Peter Kuest, Scott Smith, Jere Pelletier, Alex Chiarella, Chris Moody.