First-day leaders defy strong gusts

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was shortly after 4 o'clock when, as if someone flipped a switch, a strong south wind started blowing across the TalonsCove Golf Course.

Up until that point, the weather had been calm and tranquil, allowing golfers in the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open golf tournament to shoot some low numbers at the scenic, almost-brand-new layout.

But suddenly, large yellow tumbleweeds started blowing across the golf course, whitecaps appeared on Utah Lake to the east of the course and the scores started rising.

However, the turbulent weather didn't keep St. George's Nick McKinlay and Ogden's Jon Fister Jr. from each posting the best score of the day, a 6-under-par 66.

"The more it blows, the better," said McKinlay, a 29-year-old assistant pro at Coral Canyon, who played at least six holes in the gusty conditions. "It doesn't really bother me."

"I just tried to play as smart as I could," said Fister, who put up with the blustery conditions for seven holes in the middle of his round. "I just tried not to do anything stupid in the wind."

Three golfers who played during the more benign weather of the morning are tied for second place at 67. Playing in the same group, Old Mill assistant Jeff Keye and Salt Lake City pro Roger Harrison both shot 5-under par scores and were matched by Magna's David Booth.

Canadian Tour regular Ryan Ellis of Draper heads a list of four golfers at 68, including Joseph Summerhays, Troy Watkins and amateur Shaun Wurtz, while nine golfers stand at 69. In all, 47 players shot under par on Friday.

Even more amazing than McKinlay shooting the best score of the day under the windy conditions is the fact that he'd never played the TalonsCove course before Friday.

He didn't play in any of the pro-ams earlier in the week and didn't make it up from St. George for a practice round.

"I showed up last night and looked around a little bit," he said. "But sometimes not knowing the course helps you play better because you don't know where to get in trouble."

McKinlay kick-started his round with a chip-in birdie at the par-3 No. 6 hole to go to 2-under. He added birdies at 9, 10 and 12 to move to 5-under at about time the wind started howling.