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Sandy • J.J. Killeen's Sunday afternoon was fabulous for a number reasons, including his daughter Olivia's first birthday.
So, what better way to celebrate than to win a golf tournament — and it wasn't just any victory. It was Killeen's first on the Nationwide Tour, and he did it going wire to wire, leading all four rounds to tie the course record at 22 under par.
Not only did Killeen win the Utah Championship, the Fort Worth, Texas, resident grasped the tournament by the neck and won going away by four strokes. Killeen, who began the day tied with Jeff Gove, could barely contain his joy striding up the 18th fairway in front of a boisterous gallery at Willow Creek Country Club.
"It was a little emotional when I saw my wife and daughter," Killeen said. "Hopefully this will open the gates for me."
Three years ago, Killeen learned the hard way that three good rounds could be undone by one poor performance, as he struggled in the final round in Livermore, Calif., and lost in a playoff. In all but one respect, this week was a mirror image of the one he let get away.
This time, the former TCU standout played to win with three birdies on the back nine and an overall round score of 65.
"You just have to realize that every shot matters," Killeen said. "I realized that the fourth hole of the first round is just as important as the last day."
Meanwhile, Gove, who shot into an early lead with an eagle on No. 3, couldn't find the scoring touch. The rest of his round was a succession of pars.
Yet, the veteran, who last won in 2005, saw plenty of positives in his second-place finish. This included a jump to No. 20 on the Nationwide money list. The top 25 at the end of the year earn their PGA Tour cards. Killeen vaulted from No. 25 to fifth.
"I played so bad last year and worked so hard this winter, I'm happy to be in this position," Gove said. "I felt like I could handle it. Nerves-wise I felt pretty good. I just didn't hit the shots, so … "
On a sticky, muggy day that saw the tournament start time moved up by three hours to beat weather problems, the ball didn't fly as far. Rain during the night had also softened the fairways, creating several problems with mud clinging to golf balls. One of those mud balls caused Gove's shot on No. 12 to go behind a tree.
"This is a huge step for me," Gove said. "It was fun to get back into contention."
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing finish for Tony Finau. The Lehi resident wanted a top-25 finish to qualify for this week's Omaha Cox Classic. Instead, Finau wound up tied for 45th and headed to Monday's qualifier.
"I thought I did what I needed to do on the front nine," he said. "Another good learning experience, I guess."
Finau's quest was thwarted by a bogey on 16 and a par on the par-5 17th.
In the end, however, no one was catching Killeen, who made several crucial putts to save par.
"I kind of kept my head down and was trying to make as many birdies as possible," he said. "I definitely wasn't trying to protect anything."
Twitter: @tribmarty —
Solid from start to finish
J.J. Killeen leads the tournament each round to eventually tie the 72-hole course record of 262.
Lehi native Tony Finau fails in his bid to finish among the top 25, ending tied for 45th.
The Utah Championship goes without a hole-in-one for the first time since 2002. —
Final leaderboard
Utah Championship
J.J. Killeen -22
Jeff Gove -18
Casey Wittenberg -16
James Hahn -15
Bud Cauley -15
Also
Tony Finau -6
• See full results from the Utah Championship in Scoreboard, D6