South Team

The gallery lining the fairways of Utah’s newest golfing gem, Sand Hollow Golf Course, were torn as to what was more spectacular – the scenery or the golfing prowess of two dozen of Utah’s best junior golfers. Shot after amazing shot wowed the gallery in the two-day inaugural Zions Bank Challenge Cup, based on the Ryder Cup format.

“Great shot! Wrong team” echoed the sentiments of one mother, who was obviously pulling for her son in the team event but who also valued the golfing ability of his opponent in the alternating shots portion of the event. She and others seemed pleased to witness first-hand a format that most only see on the television. They also saw the lead change numerous times during the two-day event of foursomes, four ball and individual match play. In the end, the ultimate victor was …. the northern team.

The teams were equally divided with members of each squad coming from across the state. Team members qualified for the event based on their performance in Utah Junior Golf Assn. events during the 2008 golf season. Each team was under the direction of a captain and a co-captain, who decided how to match them in the competition with players from the opposing team.

“Our guys were really good out of the shoots,” said Northern Team Captain Steve Fishburn. His team lead by ?? points after completion of the four ball competition on the links course of Sand Hollow. They lost some ground in the afternoon play of foursomes on the same course and only lead by 3 points going into the final day.

Fishburn said his strategy for the last day was to make as many birdies as possible and slowly gain some ground in the 12 individual matches on the championship course. He said some of his team members played out of their heads in a day that saw the lead change numerous times. With two matches left to go, it was still unclear who the victor would be. When those final matches were concluded, the north barely edged the south 177-171.

Teams made points for each hole a team or individual won during the Challenge Cup. Another point went to the winner of each match. Since each hole was worth a point, the matches were played out to the end even when there was a clear champion.

“With 19 points possible per match, every shot mattered,” said Northern Team Member Ryan Sarlo.

Fishburn said the event, which he believes will be the UJGA premiere event, proved to be more challenging for many of the golfers. He said most of his team is used to competing in tournaments where poorly executed shots only hurt the individual score. But, the team flavor of the Challenge Cup put an entirely new twist on the term pressure, he said.
“There is more pressure in a team event,” he said. “They [team members] don’t want to let their teammates down.”

Complete Results

Challenge Cup Photos