Upsets are always a part of the Utah Men’s State Amateur, and there were plenty in Wednesday’s first round of match play at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway.
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The biggest upset was No. 64 seed Krew Labrum, who had to survive a seven-man playoff to get into match play earlier in the morning, defeating medalist and No. 1 seed Ben Wilson 3 & 2.
Wilson, a University of Utah signee, had finished as medalist by shooting 134 over two days of stroke play.
Also losing in the opening round of match play Wednesday were No. 4 seed Jesus Castaneda, who was beaten by Carter Frisby 2 up, No. 5 seed Kenny Palmer who was defeated by Kaha’i’olele Helm 3 & 2 and No. 12 seed and former State Am champion Dan Horner losing to Andrew Cottle on the 19th hole.
No. 2 seed Austin Shelley barely survived, as he had to win his final two holes to defeat Dallin Anderson 1 up.
In all, out of 32 matches, 15 of the lower-seeded players knocked off their higher-seeded opponents in the opening round of play.
The 20-year-old Labrum is a late-comer to golf, as he only started playing when he was 15 at Corner Canyon High. After high school, he played a year at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene and is transferring to Westminster University.
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He said he is a good friend of Wilson’s and “just went out there and wanted to have fun” and came away with the win.
Wilson was 1 up early, but Labrum won three holes in a row, at 8, 9 and 10, and hung on for the victory.
The longest match of the day saw Ammon Allred defeat Braylon Bingham in 23 holes. The most decisive win was Jackson Mauss’ 8 & 7 victory over Jesse Jones.
The day started with a seven-man playoff for the final three spots for match play as Labrum, Anderson and Tytan Birchell emerged as qualifiers after five holes over Preston Bridges, Austin Bybee, Jordan Paulson and Cooper Wayment.
The round of 32 will be played Thursday morning, followed by the round of 16 in the afternoon. That will leave eight quarterfinalists to play Friday morning, with the winners facing off in the semifinals in the afternoon.
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The two survivors will play a 36-hole final Saturday beginning at 8 a.m.
Utah Men’s State Amateur
First-round matches
Krew Labrum def. Ben Wilson 3 & 2
Aidan Thain def. Dallin Wheatley 3 & 1
Bowen Mauss def. Stockton Penman 5 & 3
Brock Sivulich def. Oliver Gladwell 3 & 2
Parker Bunn def. Darrin Overson 3 & 1
Steele Dewald def. Beckham Skinner 3 & 2
David Liechty def. Bode Salas 3 & 2
Joseph Jack def. Brock Porter 1 up
Carter Frisby def. Jesus Castaneda 2 up
Tim Brophy def. Austin Jones 4 & 2
Ty Brody def. Clayton Brown 2 & 1
Tyse Boman def. Daniel Johnson 1 up
Kaha Helm def. Kenny Palmer 3 & 2
K.J. Ofahengaue def. Madden Barnes 4 & 2
Andrew Cottle def. Dan Horner 19 holes
Jake Griffin def. Wyatt Toney 2 up
Austin Shelley def. Dallin Anderson 1 up
Lincoln Markham def. Devin Tovey 2 & 1
Kanyon DeRyke def. Calvin Lillywhite 4 & 3
Ryan Liechty def, Daniel Griffiths 2 & 1
David Timmins def. Cooper Cannon 5 & 4
Ammon Allred def. Braylon Bingham 23 holes
Noah Moody def. Rand Sargent 3 & 1
Bridger Holmes def. Peyton Hastings 2 & 1
Angus Klintworth def. Tytan Birchell 5 & 4
Will Blanchard def. Will Peterson 1 up
Noah Schone def. David Jennings 7 & 5
Cameron Crawford def. Bret Parker 1 up
Jackson Mauss def. Jesse Jones 8 & 7
Cole Ogden def. Dylan Winona 3 & 1
Brandon Robison def. Jacob Waterman 6 & 4
Max Landon def. Matthew Berzovich 19 holes