Teen Ali Mulhall Favorite to Win Utah Women’s Amateur – Deseret News

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Junior golf phenom Ali Mulhall will play for the first time this week in the 118th Utah Women’s State Amateur at TalonsCove Golf Club. She’s “heard great things” about the event after playing competitive golf all over the country.

The 19-year-old hopes her first appearance at the event will also be her last.

Mulhall, who recently won her 350th golf tournament — no, that’s not a typo — plans to turn pro this fall and begin the qualifying process for the LPGA Tour. She’ll enter what’s called “Q-School” in late August, a three-phase process that she must complete to make it onto the world’s premier women’s golf tour.

“I’m really trying to play without any expectations,” Mulhall said last week after shooting a 6-under 66 in a practice round at TalonsCove. “I’ve just got to play the game I know I can play, stay in the process and play day by day and not get too far ahead of myself. I’m just excited to compete.”

Mulhall has played in hundreds of junior golf events in Utah and currently lives in St. George. She works as a “Black Desert athlete” at the relatively new Black Desert Resort, which is hosting a PGA Tour event this fall and an LPGA event in 2025.

“I’m practicing there and doing some clinics for women and juniors,” she said, adding that the work allows her to maintain her amateur status for the time being.

Mulhall has been offered a scholarship from UNLV, but will use the upcoming school year as a “gap year.” She can use that scholarship to attend school in Las Vegas if she doesn’t make it to Q-School.

“I got talking to some (professional) players who had moved to St. George and they said I should give it a try. I got their opinion and my dad and I decided that was the best route to go,” she said.

Mulhall’s father is Chris Mulhall, the former head golf professional at Morgan’s Round Valley Golf Course. The family has lived primarily in the Las Vegas area for the past three years, where Ali helped Coronado High win three Nevada Class 5A team golf championships. Last fall, she won the 5A individual title.

She cites winning the prestigious Drive, Chip & Putt competition at Augusta National in 2021 as her most notable golfing achievement, then casually mentions that she earned her “350th tournament win” a few weeks ago.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she won 20 of the 26 tournaments she entered last year.

“I’ve played in tournaments all over the country, but I think Utah has the best women’s golf system and tournaments,” she said. “Junior golf is great here. UGA puts on some phenomenal tournaments, so we’re just going to stay here (this summer) and do some national tournaments as well.”

2024 Utah Women’s State Amateur

Ali Mulhall’s younger sister, Molli, is also among the 60 players taking part in the tournament, which begins on Wednesday with 18 holes of stroke play, which will serve as a qualification for the match play.

The round of 16 will be played on Thursday morning and the round of 16 will be played on Thursday afternoon.

The quarterfinals are Friday morning and the semifinals are Friday afternoon. The 18-hole championship match is Saturday. For the first time, the Utah Women’s Amateur champion will earn an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur, which will be played Aug. 5-11 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

The exemption “is something new, and it’s an exciting addition to this tournament, and to women’s golf in Utah in general,” said five-time champion Kelsey Chugg, associate director of golf for the Salt Lake City Golf Division. “It’s something new. And it’s an exciting addition to this tournament, and to golf in general. It’s going to help drive participation in this event. … It’s certainly a big prize.”

Ali Mulhall and Chugg are the favorites, along with 2020 champion Grace Summerhays, a standout golfer for Arizona State.

Former Bingham High, Sacramento State and Iowa State golfer Tess Blair defeated Summerhays in last year’s championship match at Jeremy Ranch, but she will not compete this year.

Chugg, 33, won an amateur tournament in the Boston area in May but juggles her full-time job with her golf training. She “hopes” her game is good enough to compete with college golfers and fast-rising juniors.

Ali Mulhall suggested the cut for match play will be “around 4-over,” while Chugg thinks it will be “a bit higher than that.”

“A player with good course management will thrive here. It’s really imperative that you hit your tee shots on the fairway. I’ve heard they’re going to expand the rough and that’s already a challenge,” Chugg said. “You also have to make sure you’re on the right parts of the greens because they’re big.”

Other favorites to watch include Nebraska golfer Arden Louchheim (of Park City) and 2023 semifinalist Jane Olson.

Also competing are teenagers Saydie Wagner, Kate Walker and Ashley Lam, who are part of Utah’s Junior Americas Cup team.

Another favourite is Faith Vui, who won the New Zealand women’s amateur tournament last November as an 18-year-old, becoming the first Samoan to win that event.