125th Utah State Amateur: Simon Kwon repeats title match run against upstart David Liechty

SALT LAKE CITY — Recent Layton High graduate David Liechty never envisioned playing in Saturday's Utah state amateur championship final at The Country Club. Truthfully, the Utah Tech signee just wanted to make match play and "see where it goes."

Fair to say that where it went was beyond his dreams.

Liechty topped former Utah golfer-turned-Rutgers transfer Martin Leon 2 and 1 in Friday's semifinals of the 125th Utah State Amateur Championship, leading by as much as three holes before clinching the win on the 17th green in front of "probably" the largest gallery following his round with around 20-30 family members, he said.

"My realistic expectation was just to make the cut and then see what happens from there," he said. "Then I kept winning matches. I'm excited for tomorrow."

The No. 16 seed after Tuesday's stroke-play final will face recent Cal transfer Simon Kwon in Saturday's 36-hole championship match at 8 a.m. MDT at The Country Club.

Liechty jumped out to a three-hole lead after shooting 34 on the front nine of his match-play semifinal with Leon, who pulled one back on the par-4 10th hole. But recent high school graduate won the par-5 13th hole, and had an eight-foot putt on No. 16 to close out match, up 3. But committed Trailblazer missed left for a three-putt bogey to give Leon a chance on the par-5 17th hole.

Liechty finished off the match with an easy two-putt on the 17th green, then immediately joked how he would "probably" play a game of ping pong with his brother Friday night to prepare for the weekend's 36-hole final.

"I'm starting my mission soon, so that's maybe going to be bigger than this," said Liechty, who will begin a service mission locally for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before he enrolls at Utah Tech. "I'm already committed (to Utah Tech), so just wanted to have fun. If I win, great. If I lose, there are more years to keep playing."

Liechty's opponent will be former Skyline High standout Kwon, the reigning state amateur runner-up who eliminated past champion Dan Horner 5 and 3 after an aggressive match that finished with winning three-straight holes on the back nine.

The rising college junior who entered the transfer portal this spring after two years at Cal took his 2-up lead through 12, doubled the advantage on No. 14, and took the win one hole later when Horner conceded with a 5.

That clinched a moment long in the making, at least a year since Kwon lost to BYU golfer Zac Jones in the championship match of the 124th state amateur. Ever since then, Kwon admits he's thought about

"Last year's match was definitely on my mind every single time I practiced. It's something I still think about," said Kwon, the grandson of former BYU star and Hall-of-Fame golfer Johnny Miller who grew up a pitching wedge from the fairway bunker on the eighth hole at The Country Club. "About 10 minutes before my tee time today, I looked over and saw last year's picture of the winner. It definitely motivated me in many ways to go out and compete today so that I could have a chance to get back."

Kwon is currently in the transfer portal, his destination unknown (though he admits he has "a couple" of offers that he'll decide upon after Saturday's match). But for now, all focus is on adding his name to the list of state amateur winners — a list that includes PGA pros Tony Finau, Zac Blair and Daniel Summerhays, among others.

"I think one thing you have to do in match play is not worry about the match behind me or in front," said Kwon, whose grandfather has a locker room in the clubhouse but his family have never been full members at The Country Club. "You just have to stay focused on each shot, each hole, and not worry about things you can't control."

Earlier Friday in the quarterfinal round, Kwon defeated Josh Howe 5 and 4 and Horner defeated Kenny Palmer 1 up. In the other side of the bracket, Leon defeated Cameron Crawford 3 and 1,while Liechty took a 3 and 2 victory over Elijah Turner.

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