1-stroke victory: St. George golfer wins more than money

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Although he'll surely find some ways to spend the $15,000 first prize, Nick McKinlay said he was much more excited about something else he earned by winning the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open Sunday.

The 29-year-old from St. George capped off the best golfing week of his life by shooting a 69 Sunday, giving him a 54-hole total of 202 and a one-shot win over Salt Lake's Jeff Keye. Provo's Chris Moody and Bountiful's Garrett Clegg tied for third, two shots back.

But along with the biggest check of his life, McKinlay also received an exemption to next month's Nationwide Tour Utah Classic at Willow Creek Country Club.

When asked which thrilled him more, he said, "Definitely the invite. Money's nice, but it's the fact of advancing my future and the goals that I have."

Until the past couple of weeks, McKinlay was content working at Coral Canyon Golf Course teaching golf lessons and hadn't thought much about playing for a living. However, after winning the Salt Lake City Open two weeks ago and topping it off with the Utah Open win, McKinlay is re-evaluating his future.

"After winning the Salt Lake City Open, that got me excited about practicing and playing a lot more," he said. "I'm going to take playing more seriously and definitely going to re-dedicate myself to practicing a lot more."

On the other hand, maybe it's his relaxed approach to golf that helped him play so well lately. McKinlay acknowledges his game has improved since he changed his attitude about golf and started treating it like a fun game, rather than putting pressure on himself to perform well.

Unlike most players who get familiar with a course before playing and make meticulous notes, McKinlay showed up blind for Friday morning's first round. He had never even seen the course but still fashioned a 6-under 66 that gave him a share of the first-round lead with Jon Fister Jr.

A 67 Saturday kept him in a tie with Fister, but more experienced players such as Canadian Tour regular Ryan Ellis, Tight Lies Tour player Clegg and Moody, an assistant at Riverside CC, were lurking close behind.

For Sunday's final round, McKinlay was able to stay pretty calm as he had been all week. He missed a birdie opportunity on the first hole, but made three more on the front nine to make the turn at 3-under par, 14-under for the tournament.

That put him three up on the field and even more on Fister and Ellis, who struggled early and made the turn at 10-under and 8-under, respectively.

The group in front of McKinlay's, was staying close as Moody, Clegg and Keye all made the turn at 11-under.