Strong Field Shows at 2007 Central Utah Amateur

by Quetzel Miller III

Provo, UT - Coming off a win last week at the ILCRICC, Thom Archibald seems to have found something in his game that wasn't there before. He and other members of the AGA competed this weekend at the 2007 Barber Brothers Central Utah Amateur, each given goods odds at walking away with a win. Thom played with his father, Jim, and each had their share of goods and bads. Thom seemed to be able to keep his to a minimum, though, while Jim let a few more slip away. Together with the 15 year old Garrett Moss that they played with, the threesome was 7 under on the day. Garrett accounted for five of those, shooting a 5 under par 67 after starting 2 over through 4. Thom was right with him most of the way, until making a few mental mistakes down the stretch, and finishing with a three under par 69. Jim was close behind until he drove in the water on the par 5 16th, and bogeyed the 18th from the front of the green for a one over par 73.

In any normal amateur field, Thom's 69 would be good enough for a top-5 finish, but with the strong field this weekend, he ended up in a tie for tenth, walking away with around $130 in clubhouse winnings from his performance. "I played really well out there today. I just hit greens, and made a few putts I shouldn't have made, but I didn't miss much" Thom mentioned after the round. "I just wish I wouldn't have bogeyed 12 and 16 (both par 5's), cause then I could have been right near the top of the board there."

The winning score was a 63 shot by Dan Horner, one better than Steve Borget's 64. Others were clustered from 65 to 68. Thom's performance was good enough for his first top-10 at the event, and is hopeful of the future in such events. It was also noted that his older brother and top challenger, Chris, was not able to be there despite a history of decent performances in the event. There's always next year...

[Thom's stats:
putts: 27
greens: 12/18
fairways: 5/13
par 5's: -1
par 4's: +1
par 3's: -3]