Men's Golf | 4/24/2024 1:27:00 PM

Utah Tech wraps up its fourth NCAA Division-I season this weekend at the 2024 Western Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championships. 

The three-day, 54-hole event will be played this Friday-through-Sunday at the par-72, 6,947-yard Golf Club at Chapparal Pines in Payson, Ariz.

The five player lineup for the Trailblazers will feature seniors Tyler Jones and Camron Saunders, sophomores Zach Felts and Parker Reese, and freshman KJ Ofahengaue. 
 
HEAD COACH BRAD SUTTERFIELD: Brad Sutterfield (Brigham Young, 1994) is in his 12th season as head coach of the Utah Tech men's golf program. Last season, Sutterfield led the Trailblazers to six top-10 team finishes in 11 events, highlighted by a pair of sixth-place showing at the SUU Pizza Hut/Pat Hicks and UC San Diego Invitationals, along with a seventh-place showing in their WAC Championships team debut.  
        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. UT 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 UT 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.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech closed out its regular season slate with a 12^th-place finish at the UC Santa Barbara Gaucho Invitational, which was played this past April 8-9, at the Sandpiper Golf Course in Santa Barbara, Calif. 
        After opening with a solid 3-over par 291 on their opening morning loop, the Trailblazers struggled during their afternoon round, which ended with Utah Tech carding a 22-over 310. Utah Tech bounced back in a big way in the final round, closing with a combined 1-over 289, but the Blazers could make up any ground on the field. 
        Ofahengaue led the Trailblazer effort as he posted his first collegiate top-20 individual finish. The freshman opened with a 1-under 71, then after a 5-over 77 in round two. Ofahengaue then closed with a collegiate career-low 5-under 67 to finish in a five-way tie for 20^th at minus-1 215.
        Jones bookended a pair of even-par 72s around a second round 8-over 80 to finish tied with three others for 46^th at plus-8 224. Felts (74-79-73) followed in t-55^th at plus-10 226, while freshman Bode Salas(74-76-80) tied for 63^rd at plus-14 230, and Saunders (79-78-77) finished in solo 70^th at plus-18 234.  

TRAILBLAZERS AT A GLANCE: Through nine full team events this season (11 total), Felts the team with a 73.66 scoring average with a team-best nine par or better rounds, while Jones is second at 74.17 with seven par or better rounds.
        Ofahengaue is third at 75.28 (three par/better rounds), followed by Saunders in fourth (75.86; on par/better round), and Reese in sixth (76.27).