SARATOGA SPRINGS — Former Weber State golfer Kelsey Chugg continues to build upon her legacy as one of the greatest female golfers the state of Utah has ever produced — perhaps the greatest.
The 33 year-old Ogden native who moonlights as Salt Lake City’s director of golf added to her impressive amateur resume on Saturday at TalonsCove Golf Club, edging teenager, rising golf superstar and future pro Ali Mulhall 1-up to claim her sixth Utah Women’s State Amateur championship in 12 years of competing for that prestigious crown.
“I am thrilled,” Chugg said after winning the 18th hole with a par in the razor-close championship match when Mulhall posted an uncharacteristic bogey.
“This is really cool and special for me to win this one. It is exciting. I am going to let it soak in.”
Chugg also won State Am titles in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2022. She is the event’s fifth six-time winner, joining Florence Halloran, Helen Hofmann-Bertagnole, Mary Lou Baker and Marcia Thayne, the latter of whom holds the distinction of winning all six of her titles consecutively.
Beverly Nelson owns the record, having won eight championships, the last in 1979. Since then, no woman has dominated the event as much as Chugg has, which is all the more remarkable considering the fields are much deeper, talented and filled with college players and aspiring professionals such as Mulhall and the Arizona State golfer Mulhall edged in the semifinals, Grace Summerhays.
“Yeah, it is insane,” Chugg said. I feel like I have been playing for a long time now. I am getting old, but it is pretty cool. I was feeling really good about my game coming into this week and just played really steady. I am really excited.”
This particular field of 60 players was not quite as deep as past fields, as BYU’s perennially strong women’s golf team is touring Ireland, but Chugg’s path to the title wasn’t easy. She had to beat Utah Tech star Jenna Anderson in the quarterfinals and reigning New Zealand Amateur champion Faith Vui in the semifinals, for instance.
“Everything (in Utah women’s golf) has grown. It has been amazing to see the depth of the fields now and the talent level of these younger players who are up and coming.
“It is fun for me. It keeps my game sharp. Like, I am not ancient yet,” Chugg said. “It is really fun for me to compete against these great, great players.”
Chugg said it is not up to her to proclaim herself the best female golfer in state history, but acknowledged it is “amazing” to put her name on a list that includes several members of the Utah Golf Hall of Fame.
Trailing by a hole, Mulhall had birdie chances on 14 and 15 but couldn’t convert to win those holes, and Chugg was 1 up heading into 16.
That’s when Chugg hit her approach over the green, chipped past the hole a good 20 feet and then watched as Mulhall drained a 21-footer for birdie that tied the match.
It appeared that all the momentum was in Mulhall’s favor.
“I knew I needed to have another two good holes if I was going to have a shot to tie or win, but I was just happy to get back to even,” Mulhall said.
On 18, Chugg found the fairway, while Mulhall’s tee shot settled in the left rough a foot or two from the fairway. Chugg was able to find the green and stay below the hole with her approach, while Mulhall’s approach hit close to the green but bounced into a deep bunker.
Mulhall, the new Black Desert athlete who moved to St. George from the Las Vegas area a few months ago, left her bunker shot some 15 feet from the hole and then missed the putt that would have prolonged the match.
“It was more on the up-slope than I anticipated and I just chunked the third shot and ended up short,” she said.
Chugg, who was playing 18 for the first time since Wednesday’s stroke-play qualifying round, said she was “relieved but shocked” when Mulhall’s par putt slid past the hole.
“I thought she would make that, for sure. She is just a clutch putter, but I was definitely relieved. It was kinda getting shaky down the stretch there,” said Chugg, who leaves Friday for the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma.
Mulhall said she will play in Qualifying School for the LPGA Tour in two weeks in Palm Springs, California, and turn pro if she makes it through the first two stages of qualifying.
If she doesn’t, she will retain her amateur status and perhaps attend UNLV on a golf scholarship.
“I got to play a lot with amazing players this week,” Mulhall said. “I learned how to play match play. … Me and my dad (PGA professional Chris Mulhall) worked as a good team this week.”
Chugg said championship No. 6 was “special” because she has been dealing with some personal issues and her grandmother has been ill.
“Had a lot on my plate, and so this one (is special). You know, nothing is guaranteed. Obviously I had won five over the years, but it was really good to see my game stay in good shape,” she said. “… It was great to be able to play really steady and hold on.”