Men’s State Am: Right at home, Perry native Jacob Marx sniffs the top with strong Day 1 performance
Box Elder alum tied with David Liechty, Tyson Shelley through first round of stroke play
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- Jacob Marx of Perry hits a tee shot during the first round of the 2025 Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Eagle Mountain golf course in Brigham City on Monday, July 7, 2025.
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- Westminster golfer Nic Jensen hits a shot out of a sand trap during the first round of the 2025 Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Eagle Mountain golf course in Brigham City on Monday, July 7, 2025.
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- Jacob Marx of Perry hits a chip shot onto the green during the first round of the 2025 Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Eagle Mountain golf course in Brigham City on Monday, July 7, 2025.
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- Jacob Marx of Perry matches his drive during the first round of the 2025 Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Eagle Mountain golf course in Brigham City on Monday, July 7, 2025.
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- Former Layton golfer David Liechty watches his tee shot during the first round of the 2025 Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Eagle Mountain golf course in Brigham City on Monday, July 7, 2025.
BRIGHAM CITY — If your daily profession finds you mastering the world of golf accessories, it’s likely a bit of that habit will rub off on the course sooner or later. For Perry native and golf supplier Jacob Marx, it’s sapping strokes off his game in time for the Utah State Am.
Marx, a general manager for the Utah-based Tracer Golf Accessories, as well as a former state medalist at Box Elder, wowed his home course on Monday, shooting 2-under during the opening round of stroke play at Eagle Mountain Country Club, where his father, Chris Marx, is head pro.
Marx popped his round open with back-to-back birdies, adding another on No. 6 for 3-under through the front 9. He’d birdied No. 13 and bogied twice on his way out, joining Layton High alum David Liechty and BYU’s Tyson Shelley with 2-under.
“I had the putter rolling and that’s really what you’ve gotta do,” Marx said. “The pins are in the toughest spot of the green, every hole. It’s hard to get the ball even close; you have to make 12-footers if you want to make birdie.”
Stroke play, split between Eagle Mountain and Logan Country Club, where the remaining 64 amateurs will contest through Saturday, will continue through tomorrow, but Marx made quite the first impression on a course he’s circled perhaps thousands of times since he was 6 years old.
But when he’s not playing, Marx is naturally found in the golf world supplying everything from tees, towels and tools to pro shops across the state. Building his business naturally involves regular rounds, so Marx has a sharp sense of Eagle Mountain from front to back.
The greens at Eagle Mountain, specifically holes 3, 6, 7, and 8, described by Marx as “tough, quick and hard,” may have hardened his short game ahead of Tuesday’s follow-up in Logan.
“Once you play it enough, you just have the confidence to smack it down the middle,” Marx said of Eagle Mountain. “That’s kind of where everybody struggles because it’s really intimidating and scary looking down and the fairway is 50 yards below you, and it’s real narrow.”
Marx entered Monday’s opening round as if it were another day on the links, and he’ll try to replicate the mindset over the next few days in Logan. However, Eagle Mountain is arguably the most familiar course on Marx’s radar – and one he won’t see again during the state am.
For the 26-year-old local, it’s only his first mark on a week-long sprint for the cup.
“For amateurs, it’s what everybody looks forward to,” Marx said. “You know everybody’s watching, and anybody can do it when you get into match pay. It’s something that I look forward to all year because it’s just a lot of fun to be up here.”
Stroke play continued past 6 p.m. on Monday, but Marx’s compelling opener seats the Northern Utahn head of the herd for Tuesday’s second-round 1:10 p.m. tee time in Logan. Marx is slated with U.C. Santa Barbara’s Chase Goetschel (2-under) and Westminster’s Nic Jensen (2-over).
Other Northern Utah scores
68 – Jacob Marx (Eagle Mountain); David Liechty (Valley View)
69 – Dan Horner (Bonneville)
71 – Simon Kwon (Bonneville); Martin Leon (Bonneville)
72 – Nic Jensen (Bonneville)
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.