- Bowen Mauss won the 128th Utah state amateur championship with a 9 and 7 win.
- Mauss is the first back-to-back champion since Preston Summerhays in 2018-19.
- He earned exemptions to the U.S. Amateur in Aug. and PGA Tour in Oct.
MIDWAY — In the 128-year history of the Utah state men's amateur championship, the longest-running continuously-played tournament in world golf has only had 19 repeat champions in consecutive years.
Bowen Mauss made it 20 Saturday afternoon.
The Arizona State golfer from Draper used a bruising start and kept his foot on the accelerator en route to a 9 and 7 win over Cedar Hills mid-amateur Cameron Crawford at Soldier Hollow Golf Course.
Mauss, the 2023 6A high school champion at Corner Canyon who averaged 72.0 strokes per round in 13 appearances last year for the Sun Devils, is the first back-to-back Utah amateur champion since former Arizona State golfer Preston Summerhays in 2018-19 and just the third since Danny Summerhays carded consecutive titles in 2000-01.
Both Summerhays followed the "family business" into professional golf, with both currently playing on the Korn Ferry Tour.
He also earned an exemption into this year's U.S. Amateur, scheduled for Aug. 10-16 at historic Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, as well as a sponsors' exemption to the PGA Tour's Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort in October.
"I definitely plan on playing," said Mauss, who joined fellow teenage golf phenom Kihei Akina at the then-Black Desert Championship two years ago. "I'm really excited to make my second PGA Tour start. I'd like to make the most of it, and I'm grateful that they gave an exemption to the champion this year."
But before the rising college sophomore could plan to re-visit Black Desert or join a select club of elite amateur golfers, he had to make it to match play.
Mauss may not have looked like much of a defending champion after 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, when he finished tied for 45th with a two-day total of 1-over-par 145.
But the 49th-seeded Mauss upset 16th-seeded Stockton Penman 5 and 3 in the opening round of match play, and never trailed in a 6 and 5 win over Brock Sivulich and 3 and 2 over Aidan Thain.
Then Mauss found his groove, coming from behind to defeat ninth-seeded BYU transfer David Liechty in 19 holes in the quarterfinals, followed by a 3 and 2 win over Utah Valley transfer KJ Ofahengaue in Friday's semifinal.
Sometimes you've just got to get to match play — and Mauss loves match play.
"I feel like I always just play a little better when matches mean more. I'm a lot more focused, more detailed and everything," Mauss said. "I just tried to be as focused as I could, be aggressive when I needed to, and just stick to my game plan.
With older brother and BYU golfer Jackson on the bag, Mauss jumped in front early, conceding just one hole and winning three en route to a 2-up advantage through the first nine holes of the 36-hole championship match on the all-too-familiar gold course at Soldier Hollow.
Both golfers went off with a bang. Crawford, the 38-year-old former Utah Tech golfer who plays out of Lehi, was hitting with the confidence of a certified ball striker — including pulling one back with a birdie on the sixth hole.
Crawford, the Art City Amateur champion who says he doesn't play much golf outside of the local weekend tournament around his job running two businesses that includes Mountain West Fence and Deck Supply, played up his underdog status when he rolled in a birdie putt on the par-3 eighth hole on the second 18, his first of back-to-back wins that cut the deficit to seven.
"I'll take it," said Crawford, who played 41 holes Friday and joked his body was "caked in Icy Hot" in between adjustments from his chiropractor girlfriend. "I wish I put up a little bit more of a fight today, but that's golf. Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don't.
"I never thought I would get to this point," he added, "and it gives me some hope that I can do it again."
After a three-putt to tie on the par-5, 568-yard 12th hole, the former Corner Canyon High standout went on a tear in winning three of the next four holes including birdies on the 13th and 15th holes to take a 5-up lead after 18 holes.
If the final were a stroke-play competition, Crawford would've carded 1-under-par 71 — but Mauss would've added 7-under 65 in the same format.
"The match is never over," Mauss said. "I've had to learn that the hard way a couple of times. You can't really get too comfortable until it's over. You just never know when someone go go make eight birdies in a row."
The 129th Utah state amateur championship will be held next summer at Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy.
