Men's Golf | 10/25/2024 1:59:00 PM

Utah Tech men's golf will close out the 2024 fall season next week at the Hawai'i Kapolei Invitational. The three-day, 54-hole event will be played Tuesday-through-Thursday at the par-72, 7,001-yard Kapolei Golf Club on the Island of Oahu..  

In addition to the Trailblazers and the host Rainbow Warriors, the 15-team tournament field will comprise of fellow WAC member Utah Valley, along with Air Force, the United State Military Academy, Arkansas State, British Columbia, Butler, Eastern Kentucky, Lamar, Miami (OH), San Diego, St. John's, Texas State and UC Riverside.
 
The five player lineup for the Trailblazers will feature juniors Zach Felts and Tanner Telford, and sophomores Jackson Rhees, Ashton McArthur and KJ Ofahengaue. In addition, junior Maddox Vincent will play as an individual. 

HEAD COACH BRAD SUTTERFIELD: Brad Sutterfield (BYU, 1994) is in his 13th season as head coach of the Utah Tech men's golf program. Last season, Sutterfield led the Trailblazers to six top-15 team finishes in 10 events, highlighted by a sixth-place finish at the 2024 WAC Championships.  
        In the 2018-19 campaign, Coach Sutterfield and the Trailblazers enjoyed arguably their most successful season in the program's four-year era, posting six top-five team finishes and 11 total top-10 showings in 12 total team events, highlighted by a wire-to-wire victory at the 2019 NCAA Division II Men's Golf South Central/West Regional Championships. Utah Tech also placed ninth-overall at the 2019 NCAA National Championships and recorded a runner-up finish in its debut at the RMAC Championships.
        In 2018, Sutterfield led Utah Tech to its third Pacific West Conference team title in four seasons, which earned him his second conference Coach of the Year award. The Trailblazers collected four tournament wins overall that season, along with seven-straight top-three team finishes and nine total top-10s in nine events overall.
        Under his direction, the program finished in the top-three overall in the PacWest in six seasons overall, including consecutive PacWest team titles in 2015 and 2016, and a runner-up finish in 2014, for which Sutterfield was named conference Coach of the Year. Prior to his arrival at Utah Tech, Sutterfield, who played collegiately at BYU, played professional golf for 15 years as a member of the PGA Tour, European Tour, the Web.com Tour, Canadian Tour, Asian Tour and European Challenge Tour.
        Coach Sutterfield is joined on his staff by former Utah Tech standout player Spencer Wallace, who returns to the program in his first season as an assistant coach.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech came away with a 15th-place team finish at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, which was played this past Oct. 14-16, at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif.
        After opening with an 8-over par 292 on their opening round, the Trailblazers bounced back with an even par 284 on their second loop to move up two spots on the team leaderboard and into a tie for 13^th at plus-8 576. 
        However Utah Tech fell back down to 15^th after posting a final round 4-over 288 to finish with a final team score of plus-12 864.
        McArthur was the lone Trailblazer to finish in red numbers as he tied four others for 22^ndplace on the player leaderboard at minus-3 210. 
        McArthur, who led Utah Tech with 12 total birdies over the three-day event, rolled in four of those birdies as part of an opening 1-under 70. The sophomore came back with one more birdie and 16 pars during his second loop en route to an even par 71, then carded seven birdies on his way to a final round 2-under 69. 
        Rhees had an up-and-down start to his tourney, which began with a 5-over 76. Rhees rebounded nicely in round two, during which he penciled in six birdies and an eagle to card a team-low 4-under 67. 
        The sophomore was at 6-under through his first 11 holes, recording three birdies and six pars on his opening nine, then went birdie/eagle to start his back nine. Then after a pair of bogeys and a double bogey, Rhees rallied and birdied his final two holes of the day. Rhees, who had 10 birdies overall, went on to card a final round 3-over 74 to join nine others tied for 47^th at plus-4 217. 
        Felts fired three consecutive rounds of 2-over 73 with 11 total birdies to finish in a six-way tie for 65^th at plus-6 219. 
        Meanwhile Ofahengaue carded rounds of 74 and 76, before he penciled in five of his 11 total birdies as part of a final round 1-over 72 to tie for 75^th at plus-9 222. Telford began play with rounds of 4-over 75 and 73, but he was derailed by a final round 10-over 81, as he wound up in a tie for 91^st at plus-16 229. 

TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE: Through three fall events, McArthur leads the team with a 71.33 stroke average and a team-best six par or better rounds, while Rhees is second at 71.56 with four par or better rounds. Felts is third at 72.11 (three par of better rounds), followed by Telford in fourth at 72.44 (four par of better rounds), and Ofahengaue is fifth at 72.56 (two par or better rounds). 
Meanwhile, Vincent will be making his 2024-25 season debut at next week's event.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech will open its 2025 spring schedule with a quick trip down I-15 to Mesquite, Nev., to play in the Eastern Kentucky-hosted Mesquite Desert Classic. The three-day, 54-hole event will be played on Feb. 16-18, at the Casablanca Resort Golf Course.