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Farmington • Oakridge Country Club's seven-year run as host of the Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open will end this weekend, when the champion receives the tournament's biggest check of this century.
Increased sponsorships in the Oakridge era have enabled the Utah Section PGA to boost the purse to $115,000 with $22,500 to the winner — up from $20,000 last August, when James Drew of Las Vegas took a two-stroke victory over Dusty Fielding.
The 54-hole tournament, benefiting Special Olympics Utah, begins Friday morning and concludes Sunday afternoon. Admission is free.
The Utah Open is moving to Provo's Riverside Country Club in 2014 and '15 as the Utah PGA reinstates the traditional rotation of venues. Oakridge's success actually created more demand among potential hosts.
"They're not fighting over us, but we have more than one option," said Scott Whittaker, the Utah PGA's executive director, remembering times when the section had to search for a host facility.
Clay Ogden, a two-time winner at Oakridge, is among the local favorites, along with Zach Johnson, who tied for third place last year.
Farmington resident Bruce Summerhays, a former Champions Tour player who won the 2008 Utah Open at age 64, also is entered.
Summerhays recently returned from Florida, where he spent three years as an LDS mission president.