Utah Men's State Amateur: Clutch Horner edges Daniels to win title

MIDWAY — Last Wednesday, one hole into the 110th Utah Men's State Amateur golf tournament, Dan Horner's chances of winning didn't look too promising.

He had to drain a 15-foot putt just to make a triple-bogey seven on his opening hole at Soldier Hollow State Park golf course. But he fought back that day to post a first-round 75, then came back with a second-round 66 just to reach match play. Then, in match play, he won three matches on the final hole — two of which came in sudden death.

The last of those nail-biter matches came Sunday, when Horner rolled in a 4-foot par putt on the 38th hole to outlast Cache County's Devin Daniels and win a marathon battle for the most coveted prize in Utah amateur golf.

For Horner, the victory is the stamp of excellence to an outstanding amateur career that blossomed when he moved to Utah from New Jersey seven years ago in September.

"Most people around me know that I can play good golf, but to me you've got to win," said Horner, who's been among the top Player Performance Points rankings for the past few years. "That's what I'm out here for, is to win. ... So this is really huge for me."

The 30-year-old Sandy resident and Willow Creek Country Club member's battle with the 23-year-old Daniels, a senior for the Utah State Aggies, was one that even the Utah Golf Association veterans are calling one for the ages. Combined, the two finalists made 21 birdies and an eagle on the Silver Course in a match that began at 8 a.m. and ended just after 5 p.m.

"I think we both knew that we were both playing good enough that you were going to have to make birdies to win holes. Neither one of us gave the other much of anything," Horner said.

Each golfer had a putt to win the match in regulation, and each had a putt to win in overtime. Eventually, Horner prevailed when Daniels made one of his few mistakes and pulled his drive left into the tall weeds and bushes left of the par-5 No. 2 fairway.

"It was intense, I'll say that," Daniels said. "It was back and forth and back and forth. It was a battle."

After the match finished the morning 18 holes all-square, Horner eventually went 2-up when he rolled in a short birdie on the 29th hole. But he gave one back two holes later with a bogey.

Then when Daniels trickled in an 18-foot birdie from the fringe on No. 14, the 32nd hole, the match was again even.