Utah
Comeback kid: Last year’s runner-up Simon Kwon takes 125th Utah state amateur title
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SALT LAKE CITY — Before Simon Kwon’s Utah state amateur championship match Saturday, he passed by the clubhouse where his grandfather — Hall of Fame golfer Johnny Miller — has a locker at the prestigious private course known as The Country Club.
During his round, he passed by the home where he grew up, a stones’ throw from the No. 8 fairway in Salt Lake City.
Kwon and his parents were never full-time members of The Country Club, but on Saturday afternoon, the course that plays closer to home than his “home” course of Bonneville Golf Club was the site of the Skyline High graduate’s top honor.
The recent California transfer pulled away for a 6 and 5 win over recent Layton High graduate David Liechty to clinch the 125th Utah State Amateur championship.
With the win, he became the first golfer to win the state amateur a year after losing in the final since current BYU coach Bruce Brockbank in 1987.
“It’s a little better feeling than last year; that’s for sure,” Kwon told a handful of reporters after his championship match, a beaming smile replacing the disappointment of a year ago at Soldier Hollow.
But Kwon’s a competitor, a four-time all-state golfer in high school who was part of three straight state titles at Skyline and NHSGA National Invitational championship before signing with the Golden Bears.
Every stroke, every hole, every match can provide valuable experience; and even last year’s loss was valuable for Kwon, he admits.
“Last year, I just came out and was a little too quick,” Kwon said after Friday’s semifinals. “I’ve learned a lot from my mistakes, changed a lot from my putting, and I’ve probably hit my driver about 20 yards further. I’m just going to stay motivated and oriented, and go one shot at a time this time.”
The shot at redemption continued to drive him, downing Ryan Bromley, Devin Tovey, Leo Torres, Josh Howe and past champion Dan Horner — as well as a field that included BYU-bound stroke-play medalist Peter Kim and Utah rising junior Davis Johnson — en route to Saturday’s final against Liechty, who has signed with Utah Tech.
Liechty jumped out to the early lead with a birdie on the par-3 second hole. But Kwon quickly took control with back-to-back wins at holes No. 4 and 5, and doubled the advantage with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole after shooting 32 on his first front nine.
The Skyline High graduate moved to 3 up when Liechty bogeyed the par-4 11th hole, and stretched his lead as high as five up winning back-to-back holes through No. 15 before Liechty pulled one back with a birdie on the 16th hole. But Kwon carded a birdie to split the 17th hole, and finished the first 18 of the 36-hole championship in 68 strokes to take a commanding lead into the lunch break.
Liechty got aggressive on the second 18, winning three of the first four holes. But the Layton High graduate carded six while playing No. 5 the second time, opening the door for Kwon to win six-straight holes and take a 6-up lead into a back nine before clinching the 125th state amateur title on the 13th green.
Kwon grew up in the shadow of the Salt Lake Country Club, where his grandfather is an honorary member and he jokes he “may have snuck on” to play a hole or two when he was young.
Fitting, then, that 50 years after Miller’s U.S. Open championship in Los Angeles, Kwon made the course where his family never played as full members the site of what has become known as the top local tournament in Utah amateur golf each year.
The former two-time state champion at Skyline and 2020 Utah Junior Golf Association player of the year was determined to make up for his championship loss in last year’s state am to BYU’s Zac Jones.
That win pushed Jones to a standout season with the Cougars, a 71.83 scoring average while helping BYU clinch a berth in the NCAA Championships for the fourth time in five seasons. Could it do the same for Kwon?
Maybe so, but it won’t be at Cal. Kwon entered the transfer portal after averaging 73.04 strokes per round in 16 events over two years with the Golden Bears. He said he’ll decide on his collegiate future after the tournament, but admits he has “a couple” of offers since entering the transfer portal.
His focus this summer has been on the state am. One stroke, one hole, one match at a time, Kwon was determined to make up for last year’s disappointing loss.
“I’ll be honest: last year’s match was definitely on my mind every single time I practiced,” he said.
There’s no need to think about it anymore. On Saturday, Kwon secured his 365-day wait for redemption.