J.J.Killeen pulls in his maiden victory at Utah Championship on Nationwide Tour
J.J. Killeen posted his first victory of the season at the Utah Championship presented by Utah Sports Commission to what can be regarded as the most comprehensive title win of his career, where he led the field in all the four rounds through the weekend.
Played at the scenic Willow Creek Country Club at Sandy, Utah, Killeen posted a final round of six-under, 65 to post his maiden victory on the Nationwide Tour. Killeen was accompanied on the bag with his father Joe while his family, including his adorable
daughter Olivia, witnessed his victory from the stands.
“It was really special having my mom and dad here, especially my dad on my bag,” Killeen said. “I got a little emotional when I saw my wife and daughter. It just feels great. I've never felt this good before. I hadn't won out here and hadn't won since some
amateur tournaments.”
Killeen had opened up his bid with a sizzling nine-under, 62, leveling the course record at the Willow Creek CC and kept his lead in all the proceeding rounds to post a wire-to-wire victory. He carded six birdies in his final round and did not drop a single
shot throughout the day to edge past the field by four shots. He managed to amass a whopping 22-under on the aggregate. Jeff Gove followed Killeen to finish for an outright second with his aggregate of 266 and Casey Wittenberg for an outright third with his
aggregate of 268.
Gove, who was looking for his fourth career win on the Nationwide Tour, had also shot a sizzling nine-under, 62 on the second round but failed to keep up the momentum in the third and fourth round.
“I could play this course every week for the rest of the year,” he joked. “Are you kidding me? I'm really pleased, though. It was fun to get back in contention. My putting was the best it's felt in years, and I'm really happy with that.”
Gove was able to pull in a glorious eagle at par-fifth, 3rd but barely managed to level-par the rest of the round, carding a final round score of two-under, 69. Kyle Reifers and Troy Kelly, the top-ranked players on the Nationwide Tour money list,
finished for a disappointing joint 18th and joint 30th respectively.
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