Stu Gold advances at State Amateur

HIGHLAND — To say Stu Gold is one of the more colorful characters among Utah's amateur golfers would be an understatement.

The 24-year-old native of Centerville lives in Ogden but drives to Sandy most days to play River Oaks Golf Course. He plays golf very quickly, taking less than five seconds to hit once he stands up to the ball. His language is often laced with expletives, he wears three bracelets on his wrists and has a habit of fist-bumping or high-fiving his caddy several times during a round.

He wore a gold-colored shirt Friday ("I'm the golden child, right?" he said) that was half-tucked-in most of the time. He's even been known to stop and sit in a golf cart with a media member in the middle of his round.

After Gold won his second match Friday to move into the State Amateur quarterfinals, his caddie, Casey Martinson, said, "We're bringing Happy Gilmore back."

Happy is what Gold was after knocking off 2008 champion Dan Horner, who missed medalist honors by a single shot this year, in Friday's second round.

"It's Dan Horner — he's one of the best players in the state," he said. "Anybody would be happy to beat him."

Gold first played in the State Amateur golf tournament in 2000, when he qualified for match play at the tender age of 14. He didn't make it past the first round that year and hasn't succeeded in a couple of tries since. A year ago, he lost to 16-year-old Devon Purser in a match in which he said he "threw up all over myself."

This year, Gold finally won his first match, defeating Clark Jones 3 and 1 Friday morning before knocking off Horner 3 and 2 in the afternoon.

Gold is one of eight golfers still left of the 156 who began play Wednesday morning. He will next play Andrew Barton, another 24-year-old, of Sandy, who made it to last year's semifinals.

The winner of that match will play the winner of the match between 29-year-old high school teacher Clay Bingham of Spanish Fork and the "old man" of the tournament, 38-year-old Jeff Jolley of South Jordan.

The other bracket features this year's medalist, Robert McRae of Park City, against 18-year-old Joe Parkinson, the local favorite who got in the tournament as a last-minute alternate Wednesday morning, and former champion Darrin Overson of Provo against John Owen, a 37-year-old from Sandy.

The two golfers who survive today's matches will meet Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. in a 36-hole final.