Pair of St. George golfers tie for medalist honors Wednesday at Utah Women’s State Amateur

It took a bit longer than usual, but the field has been set for the match play portion of the 118th Utah Women’s State Amateur golf tournament at TalonsCove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs, Utah.

In Wednesday’s 18-hole stroke play qualifying for the field of 32 in match play, Black Desert athlete Ali Mulhall , 19, and Utah Tech golfer Jenna Anderson tied for medalist honors. They shot rounds of 7-under 65 at the par-72 layout west of Utah Lake.

But the most drama came at the under end of the cut line, as six golfers who shot 9-over 81 staged a playoff for five match-play spots.

Of that group, the five players moving on are Whitni Johnson, Annette Gaiotti, Steph Belnap, Susan Tiffner and Amanda Henneman.

Libby Ward, a former Lake Point resident who played college golf at Glenville State in West Virginia, and Westminster College golfer Reimi Bleyl were eliminated in the playoff (Bleyl did not return to the course to participate in the playoff).

The Round of 32 at the 2024 Utah Women’s State Amateur begins Thursday morning at 8 a.m. MDT, and all 16 matches will begin on the No. 1 hole at TalonsCove.

Mulhall, who was featured in a Deseret News article Tuesday and played most of her high school golf in the Las Vegas area, got the No. 1 seed and will take on Fremont High’s Tiffner in the first match Thursday. Second-seeded Anderson, from St. George, will face Bonneville High’s Whitni Johnson at approximately 9:12 a.m.

Mulhall’s round on Wednesday included eagles on holes 1 and 13 and birdies on 9, 12 and 16.

Anderson also played bogey-free, with seven birdies, including a pair of 2s on the par-3 holes No. 8 and No. 17.

Five-time champion Kelsey Chugg shot 1-under 71 and grabbed the No. 7 seed.

Arizona State golfer Grace Summerhays, the 2020 champion when she was 16 , carded a 70.

TalonsCove general manager Kareen Larson shot a 78 to qualify and was the low senior (women age 50 or older). Gaiotti and Belnap, the Farmington High golf coach, are also seniors who made match play.

Larson could face Summerhays in Thursday afternoon’s Round of 16 matches if both pre-tournament favorites win their Round of 32 matches Thursday morning.