It's amazing to think that, for many years, the Utah Men's State Amateur golf tournament — which is being played for the 111th straight year this week — was open to any golfer who had a 5 handicap or less and was able to submit his application on time.

The field was limited to 120 golfers, so obviously the tournament wasn't getting the best 120 golfers in the state, just the 120 who were the most on-the-ball in getting their applications in on time. The field probably included a few "airbaggers," who bumped their handicaps down to 5 before the tournament and submitted their applications.

I'll never forget the first State Am I covered in 1979 at Oakridge Country Club, won by Ogden's Mitch Hyer over a Utah transplant named Steve Boothe.

However, the best amateur golfer in the state didn't even play that year just because he wasn't quick enough in submitting his application.

That would be Jay Don Blake, who went on to become perhaps the most celebrated native Utah golfer in modern times (you still have to give it up for George Von Elm, who beat Bobby Jones for the 1926 U.S. Amateur title as the all-time best).

I can still recall Blake as a long-haired 20-year-old hanging around the patio outside the Oakridge clubhouse and goofing around with some of the competitors, even though he wasn't playing.

Only two years earlier as an 18-year-old, Blake had made it to the State Am finals, where he lost to one of Utah's best amateurs of all time, Arlen Peacock, at the Logan Golf and Country Club.

The following spring after sitting out the State Am, the St. George native won the NCAA individual title at Columbus, Ohio, and became a two-time all-American when he finished second the following year. Eventually Blake went on to play the PGA Tour for two decades, including 15 years as an exempt player.

These days golfers still must get their applications in on time, by June 1, but they don't have to worry about getting beat out by someone who is a little more organized than they are.

This year there were just under 700 entrants for the State Am, just short of the record from a couple of years back, showing that interest is as high as ever for golfers wanting to play in the state's premier amateur event.

To accommodate all those interested in playing, the UGA started using qualifying tournaments in 1985. Originally there were just three qualifying tournaments, but now there are 10 tournaments spread out over the state from St. George to Moab to Vernal to make sure the best players get a chance to play.

And while the quantity of participants has increased five-fold, the quality has also increased significantly. Nearly half of this year's State Am field has a handicap of 0 or better, 70 in all.

Every year, a few of the state's top amateurs fail to qualify in the regional tournaments, but in the end, you get the state's best golfers going for the top prize.

And you don't have the state's best amateur sitting out because he wasn't quick enough to submit his application.

e-mail: sor@desnews.com