Local Golfer Gets Emotional When Discussing PGA Tour In St. George
Oct 9, 2024, 3:55 PM | Updated: 5:06 pm
ST. GEORGE, Utah – St. George native and pro golfer Jay Don Blake got a little choked up when thinking about his career, which took him back to his roots for the Black Desert Championship this weekend.
The Black Desert Championship is a PGA Tour event that will be played at St. George, Utah’s Black Desert Resort, from October 10 to 13. This event ends a more than 60-year drought for the PGA Tour to host an event in Utah.
“When we first came out for my first time ever playing [Black Desert Resort],” Blake began. “I took in awe what the golf course presented with the lava rocks, beautiful green grass, and the sand traps. I knew in the back of my mind that I grew up just down the road a little way.”
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“It wasn’t until the second time I played that I had a little bit more time to stand up on some of those lava rock peninsulas and look a little deeper down the valley where I grew up in a trailer park,” Blake continued “Standing there, I was thinking, ‘I possibly stood on this same peninsula when I was a little kid.”
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Blake will be among the 132-player Black Desert Championship field, which includes eight former Utahns and six current or former BYU Cougars. Zac Blair, Patrick Fishburn, Peter Kuest, and Mike Weir are all BYU alums. Zac Jones is a senior in Provo, and Kihei Akina is a Lone Peak senior committed to BYU. It will be Blake’s 500th PGA Tour start.
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The Black Desert Championship tees off Thursday, October 10, through Sunday, October 13. The 2024 Black Desert Championship begins a four-year partnership between Black Desert Resort and the PGA TOUR.
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Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s coverage of the Bees, Big League Utah, and Aggie athletics here.
