Utah Men’s State Am: Shelley brothers become first family trio with match-play victories
BYU commits battle it out in round of 32
- Jackson Shelley (left) watches his brother, Austin Shelley (right), putt at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
- Jackson Shelley tees off at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
- Austin Shelley tees off at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner
Jackson Shelley (left) watches his brother, Austin Shelley (right), putt at the Utah Men's State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
LOGAN — Before heading off to Korea to serve a mission, two-time high school state champion Jackson Shelley gave his younger brother, Austin Shelley, a fair shake at the pair’s second consecutive State Amateur.
It’s the second time that all three brothers — Tyson (currently at BYU), Jackson and Austin (both BYU commits) — have featured their game at Utah’s annual golf classic, and the second time one sibling has faced another in match play.
The brothers made history Wednesday at Logan Country Club, becoming the first trio of brothers to record match-play victories in the same Utah State Amateur Championship tournament, according to Kurt Kragthorpe of Fairways Media. This year is the 127th playing of the tournament.
Each used 18 or more holes in the round of 64. Jackson went 19 holes with Hunter Nelson to reach the round of 32, lining up yet another brotherly match in Logan on Thursday morning.
After falling to his older brother, Tyson, in match play last year at Ogden Golf and Country Club, No. 41 seed Austin reached a personal best in qualifying for the round of 32 and squared off with No. 9 seed Jackson to open play Thursday.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner
Jackson Shelley tees off at the Utah Men's State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
“I was shocked,” Jackson Shelley said. “It was a low percentage that we’d play each other for sure. It was fun to go play out there and compete.”
Indeed, a matchup between Jackson, the reigning 5A title holder, and Austin, a top-10 state medalist, wasn’t crystal clear when the picture first came together.
But after two rounds in Logan, both brothers could agree on just how strict tee-offs needed to be, considering not just the course’s strenuous fairways but their familiarity with one another’s game.
Jackson notched four birdies on the front 9, later hitting the pin on the 12th hole for another birdie, and led 4-up by the 14th hole. Austin birdied just once on the back 9, so Jackson claimed the match 3-up with two holes remaining.
After a tight win on Wednesday, Jackson turned over his stroke on Thursday for some big wins.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner
Austin Shelley tees off at the Utah Men's State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
“I usually iron off the tee, a 3-iron,” Jackson Shelley said. “My driver is pretty tight for that hole so I went 260 (yards) out and I hit a 4-iron, I hit it good right at the pin and I thought it needed to go a bit but it ended up hitting the bottom half of the pin and kinda went 10 feet from the fringe.”
Fond of the format, Austin praised the course’s nature and the challenge of Thursday’s round.
“There’s a lot more risk-reward type stuff,” Austin Shelley said. “But, if you hit a little low off your line, you’re going to going to lose the hole. … Overall, I really like this tournament (and) match play. I love playing and both years I’ve played, it’s been a really great experience for me.”
Austin, two State Amateurs deep, said sharing the experience with family, especially ahead of some key life changes, carries a bit of extra weight into the weekend as he hopes to watch his older brothers, Jackson and Tyson, carry on into the medal rounds.
This fall, he’ll return to Skyline High School for his senior season with the boys golf program and do so as the only child in the house, with Tyson in Provo and Jackson overseas.
“Two years in a row, playing with my brothers, I was surprised,” Austin Shelley added. “It was still fun and I had a good time out there. Overall, I didn’t play great. I couldn’t make my putts, and he was hitting good iron shots, putting the pressure on and I didn’t hit the shots I needed to win the holes.”
Ultimately, how they played each other wasn’t as important as the day itself.
All three brothers won’t share the same roster at BYU, but Jackson and Austin may realistically compete alongside one another in just a few years.
They didn’t draw it up this way, but the State Amateur served as the unofficial sendoff for Jackson and his brothers at just the right time.
“My farewell’s on Sunday and I start going to (Korea) on Monday so it’s coming up pretty soon,” Jackson Shelley. “It’s kind of lined up perfectly.”
Jackson Shelley moved on to Thursday afternoon’s Round of 16 to face No. 40 seed Sean Lam. Jackson Shelley dropped just one hole in the front nine and went on to win 5 and 4, advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals.
After No. 5 seed Tyson Shelley bested No. 37 seed and Lehi native KJ Ofahengaue 5 and 4, he took on No. 12 seed and fellow BYU golfer Simon Kwon later Thursday afternoon. The match was tied or Tyson Shelley led by one hole as deep as leading 1-up through 12, but Kwon won four straight holes 13-16 to take the match 3 and 2.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.