BYU collegiate golfer Blair leads amateur field at Saltwater

May 29, 2012 - By Bruce Tippets, Sports Editor

Zac Blair came in as a favorite for the amateur title at the annual Saltwater Classic, and he left the winner by two strokes.

The BYU junior golfer finished the 54-hole tournament at the Riverton Country Club with rounds of 67-70-72--209.

Blair had a double bogey on No. 18 to close out the three days. Blair finished tied for second in the overall top prize.

"Unfortunately, Zac had a little trouble on the final hole," Riverton Country Club golf pro Steve Johnson said. "It would have been neat to have an amateur as the overall champion."

A BYU teammate of Blair's, Justin Keiley placed second in the amateur division.

Keiley played rounds of 71-71-69--211.

"This is the first year we have had the amateurs play from the same tees as a professional," Johnson said. "Zac is going to be a great player. I'm sure that we will be watching Zac on television one of these days very soon."

Riverton's P.J. Thomas placed fifth (75-72-75--222) in the amateur division. In the final day, Thomas played with Blair, Keiley and Eric Parish.

Parish is a member of the University Wyoming golf team. Parish came in fourth (71-74-76--221).

Thomas will now prepare to play in a U.S. Open sectional round Monday in Houston. Thomas is scheduled to play 36 holes at Lakeview Course.

"P.J. had a great time playing with the two BYU golfers, who are two of the top college golfers in the country," Johnson said.

Riverton 13-year-old Easton Paxton finished 11th in rounds of 74-76-80--230.

"Easton had a hard day on Monday, but what a learning experience for a 13-year-old," Johnson said. "This is only going to help him. He had an excellent experience. I'm very happy that he got to play."

Scores from amateurs - Saltwater Classic

"A" flight

Zac Blair, 67-70-72--209; Justin Keiley, 71-71-69--211; Mark Isakson, 75-73-70--218; Eric Parish, 71-74-76--221; P.J. Thomas, 75-72-75--222; Paul Mohr Jr, 74-75-74--223; Cobie Lunsford, 74-75-76--225; Nathan Wilson, 78-74-76--228; Thayne Balling, 76-78-74--228; Tom Quist, 76-78-74--228; Easton Paxton, 74-76-80--230; Edward Stewart, 76-79-78--233; Zach Waxler, 77-83-76---236; Terry Berg, 79-79-79--237; Travis Norris, 78-78-81--237; Mark Pattalochi, 86-76-77--239; Rod Walters, 76-80-85--241; Curt Paxton, 84-79-79--242; Dave Balling, 84-75-83--242; Chris Pendergraft, 81-80--82--243; Kyle Nuss, 88-76-79--243; Dustin Materi, 75-80-90--245; Patrick Pajak, 80-79-86--245; Austin Ingram, 83-86-80--249; Jacob Letman, 87-85-79--251; Matt Parish, 80-86-85--251; Nick Hopkins, 79-77-95--251; Nick Vosika, 88-79-84--251; Preston Ward , 89-87-79--255; Tim Hill, 87-85-85--257; Tim Edwards, 87-89-83--259; Chris Thomas, 84-89-95--268; Collin Hopkins, 90-91-88--269; Blair Monson, 84-81-NC--NC; Clinton Boutelle, 71-84-WD--WD; Ron Garland, 79-74-WD--WD.

"B" flight

Kim Johnson, 86-74-82--242; Lee Stewart, 77-83-82--242; Nick Snyder, 80-81-81--242; Roger Eder, 84-79-79--242; Milton Martin, 82-80-82--244; Peter Piplica, 83-81-82--246; Rick Paxton, 76-87-83--246; Cactus Warner, 83-84-80--247; Tim Fish, 80-80-87--247; Bob Storti, 80-82-86--248; Steve Mossbrook, 83-81-84--248; Steven Olson, 83-81-85--249; Troy May, 77-85-88--250; Brock Holgate, 87-82-82--251; Mike Lockhart, 86-79-86--251; Gary Randall, 82-90-82--254; Al Ward, 89-89-77--255; Bud Daley, 87-91-79--257; Jim Beasley, 87-85-85--257; AJ Williams, 84-86-88--258; Cliff Root, 89-91-78--258; Loren Smith, 82-91-87--260; Lars Flanagan, 84-89-88--261; Melvin Wolf, 89-85-87--261; Jon Cox, 88-88-86--262; Randy Williams, 92-83-88--263; Derek David, 84-85-95--264; John Keralis, 94-86-84--264; Dave Long, 90-90-85--265; R.B. Thomas, 91-88-88--267; Treyton Paxton, 91-89-88--268; Bill Delapp, 87-87-96--270; Bill R. Marvel, 85-90-95--270; Lars Becker, 93-90-88--271; Don Strom, 93-92-89--274; Phil Laue, 92-87-97--276; Dick Phillip, 91-91-95---277; Alec Richardson, 94-91-91--279; Russ Holgate, 94-97-90--281; Steven Carns, 90-101-93--284; Bert Dale, 92-84-WD--WD; Chad Hopkins, 98-94-WD--WD; Chris Robisch, 101-106-WD--WD; Matt Bebout, 99-107-WD--WD.

"C" flight

Scott Rhine, 81-79-88--248; Pat Brown, 81-84-84--249; Colton Erhart, 85-85-88--258; Al Grospiron, 85-88-88--261; Larry Benson, 90-89-87--266; Mel Fausset, 84-93-90--267; Cal Mirich, 87-88-95--270; Brian Hauge, 91-84-96--271; Brian Hague, 91-84-96--271; Pat Fitzgerald, 91-89-91--271; Jason Turner, 93-89-92--274; Bob Pattalochi, 93-94-88--275; Larry Fransen, 89-94-92--275; Everett Norris, 93-94-92--279; Bert Masson, 89-106-86--281; David Long, 90-93-99--282; Josh Parker, 101-89-93--283; Ray Dunlap, 96-102-85--283; Jay Jackson, 99-89-97--285; Jeff Kehl, 96-94-95--285; Larry Krause, 99-97-89--285; Tony Kenyon, 91-96-99--286; Tim Eller, 96-95-96--287; Bernard Masson, 92-101-95--288; Donald Kruske, 101-95-92--288; Ryan Dreben, 105-94-89-288; Ted May, 97-100-93--290; Dorian Fox, 94-107-92--293; W.E. Sauer Jr, 101-98-95--294; Doyle Ward, 98-103-95--296; David Rice, 98-100-99--297; Travis Becker, 96-96-105--297; Ed Taylor, 99-102-101--302; James Jones, 103-106-95--309; Scott Schneider, 109-106-115--300; Mark Medley, 114-111-107--332; Alvin Olson, 105-106-NC--NC; Dave McDonald, 108-99-WD--WD; Eric Elder, 94-NC-102--NC; Erly Cornejo, 91-104-NC--NC; George Scheid, 101-100-WD--WD; Tom Youtz, 96-99-WD--WD.