Peter Kuest fires 23-under to win Utah Open
Former BYU golfer Peter Kuest earned his first professional victory on Sunday, carding a three-day total of 193 (-23) to win the Utah Open by a commanding seven strokes.
The first-year pro, competing at the Cougars’ home course of Riverside Country Club, fired rounds of 63 (-9), 64 (-8) and 66 (-6) to secure the win.
“It was a grind today, but it was a lot of fun,” Kuest told the Deseret News. “I got my first college win here and to get my first professional win here, it’s really sweet to do this.”
Kuest, who has already competed in five PGA Tour events since turning professional this spring, found himself atop the leaderboard after his nine-under-par first round and never looked back. The former No. 1 ranked collegiate golfer came within three strokes of tying the tournament record of 26-under set by his former BYU teammate Patrick Fishburn in 2017.
Kuest, a native of Fresno, California, tallied a tournament-high 22 birdies over three rounds to go along with two eagles.
Another one of Kuest’s former Cougar teammates, senior Kelton Hirsch, tied for third place at the three-day event with a final score of 202 (-14). Hirsch remained consistent throughout the tournament, posting a first-round score of 68 (-4) before carding a 67 (-5) in tbe second and third rounds.
BYU sophomore Elijah Turner finished tied for 33rd with a total score of 213 (-3), while senior Brock Stanger tied for 44th with a 215 (-1).
Cougar head coach Bruce Brockbank was the only senior golfer to make the cut following the first two rounds, subsequently winning the tournament’s 36-hole Senior Division at three-under-par.
