Comfort leads to contention for former BYU teammates Lundell, Shelley at Utah Championship

FARMINGTON — Everything was comfortable for former Lone Peak standout Carson Lundell in his second attempt at the Korn Ferry Tour's Utah Championship (and first as a pro).

Lundell drove to Oakridge Country Club and met up with his caddie, fellow BYU alum Max Brenchley, after sleeping in his own bed. He's played the course dozens of times. Even when he got his first day's pairing, which included recent Cougar teammate Tyson Shelley, Lundell felt comfortable — like a practice round at Riverside Country Club.

Make that double for both Cougs.

Lundell shot 7-under-par 64, and Shelley was one stroke off at 6-under 65 to finish just two and three strokes off the leaders, respectively. Lundell was tied for fourth when play was suspended Thursday due to darkness, following two separate weather delays of close to an hour each.

Shelley was tied for seventh, one shot back of his former teammate.

"I think that last year's experience here played a huge role in that," said Lundell, who narrowly missed the cut at last year's Utah Championship while playing on a sponsor's exemption. "Being able to play as an amateur on a sponsor's exemption almost adds a little bit. Then you add Max and Tyson, and my family following me, it just helped me settle in. It was a lot of fun, and I'm excited for tomorrow."

Tim Widing led the event at 9-under 62, followed by a Jake Knapp and Shad Tuten one shot back.

Three days after firing 64 to clinch his Monday qualifier, Lundell started hot. The 25-year-old Highland native who made his Korn Ferry Tour debut July 16 at The Ascendant in Colorado shot 4-under 32 through nine, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5, 534-yard seventh hole.

After his lone bogey on the ninth green, Lundell finished off his sixth birdie of the round on No. 17 to go into the clubhouse tied for third a year after playing on a sponsors exemption and narrowly missing the cut and a few weeks after his KFT debut in Colorado.

"Honestly, I felt extremely comfortable out there," Lundell said of Colorado. "I played really good golf; my distances were just off, which is weird, but it was barely off, and it felt great. It's nice to come out here and post a good score in my home state."

Ditto for Shelley, the former Skyline High standout who won last week's prestigious Pacific Coast Amateur. The rising junior from Salt Lake City has played Oakridge plenty, too, he added.

"This is my home course," Shelley said. "It wasn't growing up, but I've played here for a few years now. It feels really familiar; I love being here."

Shelley birdied two of his first three holes, added four more on the back nine, and played bogey-free golf en route to 65. That included a pair of up-and-downs to save par on the 17th and 18th holes to keep that unblemished streak intact.

Like Lundell, playing with his former college teammate of the past two years kept Shelley comfortable.

"I've played in qualifiers with him all the time, and now playing in my first pro event, it was really comfortable," Shelley said. "I knew Max, his caddie, really well, as well, and I just felt really comfortable."

Everything was going well for morning flight leader Widing, who carded nine birdies before entering the clubhouse just before play was suspended for a second time with thunderstorms rolling through the Wasatch Front in the early afternoon.

Well, almost everything.

The Swedish international who played at San Francisco felt a tug on his leg while he stood over his ball on the 17th fairway. Somehow, he explained, a bee had flown up his pants and injected its venom into his left hamstring.

"I had a hot putter, made a lot of putts — almost as hot as that bee who stung on me on the 17th fairway," said Widing, who added that he took off his pants in the fairway to clean off. "I was able to hit the wedge to three feet and made birdie after that. I'll go ice it after this. It's a bit swollen."

Sting aside, Widing birdied that par-4, 373-yard hole — one of nine sub-par markers on the day — and cruised to the early lead before the weather delay.

"You know, if that's required to birdie 17, 18, I'll take it," he said with a grin.

Patrick Fishburn was playing as well as anybody on the Korn Ferry Tour entering Thursday's opening round. The Ogden native who finished tied for second a year ago at Oakridge finished second after falling in a playoff at last week's NV5 Invitational.

Still, the runner-up finish vaulted Fishburn to No. 15 on the Korn Ferry Tour's points list, the top 30 of which at the end of the year will earn a PGA Tour card for next season.

But Fishburn opened Thursday's round off-balance, recalibrating his driver the wrong direction after a brief weather delay after his second hole. The retooling affected his tee shots the rest of the way (with no rain), and led to his 2-over 37 through nine.

After a double bogey on the par-4 first hole (playing as No. 10) included his out-of-bounds tee shot off a tree, Fishburn found rhythm with an eagle on the par-5, 568-yard second and a birdie on the par-4, 378-yard third.

That helped the former BYU standout slide into the clubhouse at 1-over 72, tied for 133rd. It will take some work, but the projected cutline should remain in sight when Fishburn tees off Friday afternoon.

"Things can change in a hurry. It's good to have a short memory," Fishburn said. "It doesn't happen fast, though; if you make a bogey, it's still going to be a half-hour, at least, before you can make a birdie again. You've got to be patient, but then break it down to the next shot.

"Just try to put one in the fairway and get some momentum going the other way."

BYU rising junior Zac Jones, the reigning Utah state amateur champion, shot 2-under 69 to finish tied for 78th. Former BYU golfer Daniel Summerhays, who has flirted with retirement from pro golf several times, narrowly completed his round at 1-under 70.

Two former University of Utah golfers could not complete their rounds and will return at 7 a.m. MDT Friday before teeing off in the second round. That includes Mitchell Schow, the 2020 Utah state amateur champion and Ogden native who grew up in Park City, who was 2-under through 12 holes.

Former Utah teammate Blake Tomlinson, who prepped at Skyline and finished as state amateur runner-up in back-to-back years before turning pro, was 1-under through 12.

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