Back with PGA experience, former BYU golfer Peter Kuest surges to top of leaderboard at Utah Open

PROVO — Even as a professional golfer, something felt familiar for BYU’s Peter Kuest when he made his return to Riverside Country Club.

That familiarity took over on the back nine.

Kuest carded a 9-under-par 63 to finish atop the leaderboard after Friday’s opening round of the Siegfried and Jensen Utah Open in Provo.

And even if the former BYU golfer was collecting paychecks on the PGA Tour and “paying for my own stuff,” he joked, it was good to be back in what has become a second home for the past four years.

“It’s good to be back playing Riverside and have some fun,” said Kuest, the former WCC golfer of the year who fired nine birdies and an eagle Friday. “It always feels good. You know you can make 10 birdies, so just go out and tear it up.”

Playing in a group that included former BYU teammate Kelton Hirsch and two-time Utah State Amateur champion Preston Summerhays (who both shot 4-under 68), Kuest was 4-under on the front nine with five birdies and a bogey.

Kuest then blitzed the back nine — including an eagle on the par-5, 557-yard 13th hole — with five straight holes shooting under par to clinch a share and eventually outright lead as he walked off No. 18 in front of the clubhouse.

The stretch may have even started with No. 11, where Kuest made one of just two bogeys on the day. He also knew he could make it up, though.

Again, that familiarity with course he’s played “a million times,” his former home course in college.

“I made bogey on 11, and then on the tee box at 12, I knew that was where the stretch starts,” Kuest recalled. “You can make six in a row right here, easily. I started on 12, and then 13 definitely jump-started it with the eagle.

“I knew I could make a lot of birdies, and a couple of eagles on that back nine.”

After a 2020 season that was blown up due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Kuest opted to turn pro rather than return to BYU for a fifth year of eligibility.

The Fresno, California, native was averaging 69.2 strokes per round prior to the pandemic, including three tournament wins in the truncated season.

As a professional, Kuest has played in five events, with a career-low round of 68. He’s already played alongside some of the game’s top professionals, including Salt Lake City native Tony Finau, at the 3M Open, the Memorial, and the Travelers Championship, to name a few.

Kuest finally made the cut on the opening weekend of August at the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, finishing 65th with a plus-2 in the modified Stableford scoring system.

“I just learned that I’ve got to keep my head up and keep working,” said Kuest, who played on a handful of sponsors’ exemptions. “The game is really close to being there and competing out there. We’ve just got to keep working and, hopefully, get some more opportunities to go out and tear it up.”

With that, he returned to Provo for the Utah Open, the 93-year-old tournament that brings some of the best pros in Utah and the Intermountain West together at Riverside Country Club.

SUU sophomore Tyler Jones, playing as an amateur, led the morning flight in the first round of the tournament, shooting an 8-under-par 64 with eight birdies. He finished in second place after the round.

Craig Hocknull shot 7-under 65, followed by fellow pro Isaac Merry’s 6-under 66. Blake Cannon and Zahkai Brown each carded 5-under 67 to round out the top five.

Among other notables in the tournament was UNLV incoming junior Veronica Joels, who won the Utah Women’s Open as an amateur just a few weeks prior to teeing off Friday in Provo. Joels shot 5-over 77 on the day.

Full results are available through the Utah Section PGA.

Golfers will tee off Saturday beginning at 7:30 a.m. MDT. Kuest, Hirsch and Summerhays will tee off at 7:50 a.m.

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