FARMINGTON, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – At just his sixth start at a pro, Australian Karl Vilips has won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship to set himself up for a stellar career.
Vilips, 22, shot 67-62-64-66 to win by two shots in Farmington, Utah, even allowing for a bogey at the 72nd hole and picked up $US180,000 prizemoney.
The top local finisher was Farmington’s Danny Summerhays, who finished tied for 13th place at 19-under par on his home course.
Vilips was runner-up in Chicago last week and now is projected to jump to 15th on the tour standings. The top 30 at season’s end graduate to the PGA Tour for 2025.
Adaptive golfer to defend national championship
Vilips was a child prodigy growing up in Melbourne and then Perth, winning the United States Kids Championship aged nine. He spent the last part of his high school years in the USA, then studied at Stamford University on scholarship where he won the Pac-12 individual title in 2024.
Remarkably, he only turned pro in June. His victory in the Pac-12 allowed him to finish 10th in the PGA Tour University ranking, which earned him conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and fully exempt status on the PGA Tour of Americas.
Turning pro has agreed with him, clearly; he has carded eight rounds in the 60s in a row.
“I just leant on all the moments in the past where I’ve been in contention,” said Vilips. “I’ve had a few of those recently, and just tried to stay confident and committed and trust the swing. I was happy to see that.”
Utah Royals win big, do not move on in Summer Cup
Vilips was delighted to have his father Paul at the course. “Him being here, seeing all the ups and downs and to celebrate the success of today is something special.”
Afterward he said his aim for the rest of 2024 was to “get as high up the points list as I can”.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66b07af58fdb4a19a9f73d21d76b1a5b&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fkarl-vilips-wins-utah-championship-045741955.html%3Ffr%3Dsycsrp_catchall&c=3181240902017117472&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-08-04 13:58:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.