Devin Tovey, 32, realizes a lifelong dream, wins prestigious Salt Lake City Amateur title
· Yahoo Sports
Two years ago, Salt Lake City’s Devin Tovey watched a lifelong dream of winning the Richard C. Kramer Salt Lake City Amateur golf tournament slip away, as teenager Bowen Mauss made a clutch 15-foot birdie on the 17th hole at Bonneville Golf Course and edged Tovey by a stroke to take home the trophy.
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That’s why winning the 2026 City Am on Sunday night meant so much to the 32-year-old club-fitter at Impact Golf Center in Draper and part-time Bonneville employee.
“Oh, man, I can’t even tell you how much this means,” Tovey said. “It is just the monkey off the back.”
It didn’t come easily.
After Tovey and Kenny Palmer both shot 6-under 138 in the 36-hole event, they began their sudden-death playoff on the easy par-5 1st hole.
“Oh, man, I can’t even tell you how much this means. It is just the monkey off the back.”
SLC Amateur winner Devin Tovey
Tovey hit a 9-iron from 164 yards to within 5 feet of the hole, and made the eagle putt. Palmer hit a better drive and had about 150 yards to the hole, but his approach spun back and off the green. His par wasn’t nearly good enough, and Tovey was able to scratch off the No. 1 item on his bucket list.
“That has been the entire goal, to win this,” said Tovey, who has been playing at the course near SLC’s Hogle Zoo since he was 5 years old.
“All my friends right here, they know how badly I wanted it. To finally do it, it is unreal. It is crazy.”
Nikko Taggart made a birdie on the 18th hole to place third at 5-under, while Hayden Howell and Daniel Holmberg tied for fourth at 4-under.
Palmer, 40, lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and spends his summers in Utah, playing out of Glenwild Golf Club. He plays in several USGA and UGA events each year and was second in the Utah Mid-Amateur and Utah Winterchamps this year.
“Very frustrating finish today, but excited for what is to come,” he said.
Palmer shot 64 on Saturday and entered Sunday with a one-shot lead over Taggart and a four-shot lead over Tovey, who played high school golf at Highland and college golf at Cameron University in Oklahoma.
Palmer was cruising Sunday until a double-bogey on the par-4 11th hole gave Tovey and the others some hope. Then on No. 17, the short, downhill par-3, Tovey hit his tee shot over the green and Palmer’s tee shot settled on the green some 20 feet below the pin.
Tournament over, right?
Hardly.
Tovey got up and down for the par, while Palmer 3-putted for a bogey, and there was a tie atop the leaderboard.
“I was surprised when he 3-putted, but, I mean, Bonneville’s greens, they get a little bumpy,” Tovey said. “Anything can happen. Once he missed it, I was like, ‘Oh man, now I gotta make mine.’”
Both golfers made routine pars on No. 18, and the City Am went to a playoff for the first time since 2021, when Cooper Jones defeated Zack Neff, also with an eagle on the first playoff hole.
“I was due. I was due,” Tovey said, holding back tears, in what had to have been one of the most emotion-filled City Am finishes ever.
With his PGA teaching professional, Terry Myers, looking on, Tovey took his instructor’s advice and got aggressive on the playoff hole.
“We talked a lot about just hitting stuff close,” Tovey said. “You know, a lot of times, just going for it, being aggressive and playing to win. You can’t have any regrets.”
Not anymore.
Tovey said next up on his bucket list is the Art City Amateur at Springville’s Hobble Creek Golf Course. That 36-hole tournament is next weekend. His best finish there is third place.
“Ultimately, the State Am is the big one, but my expectations are not to ever (win it),” he said. “There are so many good players in that field. Obviously, there were good players in this field, too.
“That one is a little bit harder to win, but if I can win just the top two-day tournaments here in the state, I would consider that a great golfing career.”
Richard C. Kramer
Salt Lake City Amateur
At par-72 Bonneville Golf Course
Championship Flight Results
138 — Devin Tovey (68-70), Kenny Palmer (64-74)
(Tovey defeated Palmer in one-hole playoff for title)
139 — Nikko Taggart (65-74)
140 — Hayden Howell (71-69), Daniel Holmberg (70-70)
141 — Benjamim Wright (70-71)
142 — David Liechty (74-68), Ty Brady (74-68), David Jennings (73-69), Kent Karlstrom (72-70), Jack Kuemmel (71-71)
143 — Stuart Gold (73-70), Dan Horner (73-70), Stockton Penman (71-72), Stephen Lindsey (68-75)
144 — Peyton Hastings (73-71), Cameron Crawford (72-72), Tyler Ewell (72-72), Bryson Hirabayashi (72-72), Matthew Berzovich (72-72)
145 — Jake DeBry (74-71), JT Timmons (72-73), Jaxon Erickson (71-74), Noah Moody (71-74), Jack Summerhays (70-75)
Flight 1 Low Gross
141 — Ty Anderson (73-68)
Flight 2 Low Gross
151 — Spencer Hunt (77-74)