Utah Championship: Ponich, Howe off to strong starts, inside top 10 after first round
Northern Utahns in the mix on Day 1 of Korn Ferry Tour event
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- Davis, BYU alum Cole Ponich lets it rip at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
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- Weber State alums Brendan Thomas (left) and Hayden Banz (right) break down a hole at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
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- Weber State alum Hayden Banz tees off at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
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- Davis, BYU alum Cole Ponich (right) and his caddie make their way to the green at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
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- Davis, BYU alum Cole Ponich sizes up his putt at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
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- Weber State alum Hayden Banz watches his putt closely at the 2025 Utah Championship at Ogden Golf and Country Club on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in South Ogden.
SOUTH OGDEN — Trudging up a steep hill to the ninth-hole green, Cole Ponich let go a sigh of relief upon learning his final tee shot of the day rested beside the stick, and not beyond the berm.
The Davis High and BYU alum recently turned pro upon leading the Cougars to the national stage, and carried his first-ever professional win at the Primo Provo Open into his first round at the 2025 Utah Championship on Thursday at Ogden Golf and Country Club.
Ponich tapped his tee shot in for birdie, his fifth of the afternoon, to tie for 10th overall with 66 (4-under) through his first 18 holes on his exemption ticket for the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour event, a developmental tour for prospective cardholders.
By the end of Thursday, Canadian golfer Etienne Papineau led the field with a complete round of 9-under.
Weber High alum Connor Howe, also in the tournament on a sponsor exemption, climbed into a four-way tie for sixth at 5-under. His six birdies and one bogey included a bogeyless back nine, tallying a birdie on 18 to finish his round.
Recalling the final tee shot, Ponich first took an absence of noise as a sign that the worst had occurred.
“I thought it was like 20 feet deep because it didn’t get any claps but I realized it was because there were guys teeing off on (hole 1),” Ponich said. “To walk up the hill and see it at 4 inches knocked the stress over a little. Sliding one was pretty nice.”
It’d become Ponich’s first birdie after five consecutive pars, including a pair of crucial 4-foot putts on holes 4 and 6 (Ponich started his round on hole 10).
Three of Ponich’s birdies came on the first nine holes of this year’s Utah Championship, a tournament the Farmington native has played twice under amateur status. Ponich finds himself in familiar territory in the event’s move to Ogden, having won the Utah Men’s State Amateur on the same grounds a year ago ahead of his collegiate finale.
Ponich shared practice rounds with pro colleagues Rob Oppenheim of Salem, Massachusetts, and Spencer Levin of Sacramento. The Cougar star also described his first professional victory in Provo as a “huge confidence booster” upon returning to Ogden for his Korn Ferry pro debut.
“At Oakridge, it was always weird going from playing it for fun to a tournament,” Ponich said. “Then, obviously winning the State Am here last year, I have a ton of confidence on the course. I shot some really low numbers the whole week so I was super excited when it got moved here.”
He continued:
“I feel like my game’s in a lot better place now. I actually feel like I belong here, whereas as an amateur, my game might’ve not been as good as it is now (and) I’m not as mature as I am now. It was more of a cool experience (in the past), whereas this week I feel like I belong out here and I can actually compete with any of the guys out here.”
Likewise, Weber State alum Hayden Banz shared a morning tee time with Ponich, albeit starting his round on the first hole. Banz shook off “early nerves” to card 68 (2-under) and tie for 31st overall.
Despite an early birdie on his third hole, Banz penciled in three bogeys through 11 in what the Salt Lake City native chalked up to the pressure of his first-ever Korn Ferry event. But the timing of the Utah Championship’s move to Ogden, beginning with this weekend’s tournament, worked out in Banz’ favor as OGCC serves as the home site of his alma mater’s program.
“If I were to pick any Korn Ferry event to get into, I would’ve chosen this one. Playing four years at Weber State, it’s super awesome to play here, especially with my family here. They were able to come watch.”
Recovering on the back nine, Banz strung together three consecutive birdies between holes 13 and 15 to stay 2-under through the end of his opening round. He praised his former teammate, and caddy for the weekend, Brendan Thomas, for lending a familiar face to their home course.
In addition to their Wildcat ties, Banz and Thomas are veterans of the annual Utah Men’s State Amateur. Banz skipped the State Am this summer in preparation for his Utah Championship qualifier; Thomas reached the semifinals at the state amateur in 2024, as well as the round of 16 during the 127th tournament earlier this month in Logan.
“I enjoyed playing with (Thomas) at Weber and I knew I needed someone with a lot of course knowledge to help me out,” Banz said. “Working with him’s been super awesome. He’s a very positive person and he brings the energy, and I’m very grateful for that. That’s one of the reasons why I chose him as my caddy.”
Banz turned pro in August and posted 8-under at Monday’s qualifier at Glen Eagle in Syracuse to join the field as the first-ever Weber State alum to play a KFT event, according to Weber State men’s golf coach Scott Erling.
To be in the conversation, Banz said, is already enough of a blessing.
“I saw an interview with Scottie Scheffler, the best golfer in the world, and he just said ‘I want to have fun,'” Banz said. “I’m just here to have fun. And so that’s my main thing is I don’t want to get caught up in thinking about too many things.”
Three more Utahns — Daniel Summerhays, Preston Summerhays and Mitchell Schow — teed off their opening rounds with the afternoon group.
Daniel Summerhays and Preston Summerhays tied for 49th at 1-under, while Ogden native Schow tied for 104th at 1-over.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
