Photo by Melissa Majchrzak
Birdie on 1st hole of a 5-man playoff earns Utah Championship crown for former Pepperdine golfer Derek Hitchner
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah | August 2, 2026 — Perhaps the person most surprised that Derek Hitchner won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship on Sunday at Ogden Golf & Country Club was Hitchner himself.
“I’ve been floundering all year,” the 26-year-old from Minnesota said on the 18th green after winning a five-way playoff on the first playoff hole with a 6-foot birdie putt. “This is kind of a surprise, and a huge blessing.”
It was the first tournament win as a professional for Hitchner, a Pepperdine graduate who turned pro in 2023.
“This is as good as it gets,” he said.
The five-man playoff tied for the largest playoff field in Korn Ferry Tour history. After Hitchner and four others — Tommy Morrison, Cole Hammer, Mason Anderson and Travis Trace — tied at 21-under through 72 holes in blistering hot conditions in South Ogden, the fivesome headed out to the 18th tee in the sudden-death playoff.
All five golfers hit the green with their approach shots, and the 6-foot-8 Morrison appeared to be in control because he was only about four feet away from the hole.
After Hammer, Anderson and Trace missed their birdie putts, Hitchner rolled his in, then watched in disbelief as Morrison missed. A day after his wife’s birthday, Hitchner earned $180,000 for his efforts, and makes a huge jump on the KFT points list after starting the tournament ranked No. 136.
Fan favorite Blades Brown, the 19-year-old from Tennessee who turned down multiple college scholarship offers to turn professional in January of 2025, almost got into the playoff — a six-man playoff would have broken the tour record — but just missed a 12-footer from the fringe on No. 18.
Brown, Ross Steelman and Jackson Van Paris tied for sixth at -20, while Chad Sewell, Filip Jakubcik, Jeremy Gandon, Ian Holt, Chris Francoeur and Brandon Berry tied for ninth.
Steelman shot Sunday’s best round, a 62, while Francoeur faded a bit on the weekend after firing a course-record 59 on Friday.
A recent Vanderbilt graduate, Van Paris was 8-under through 12 holes of his fourth round to get to -21 for the tournament and into the lead, but hit his tee shot into water on No. 13 and made a double bogey on arguably the easiest par-4 on the course.
That mistake arguably cost the 22-year-old tour rookie the title.
Despite missing the playoff by a shot in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, Brown hung around the clubhouse long after his round ended to sign autographs and take pictures with dozens of adoring fans, most of them youngsters.
As for Hitchner, who started the day tied with Brown for the lead at 18-under, he thought he blew his chance with a bogey on the relatively easy par-5 15th hole, but he rolled in a 5-footer for birdie on No. 17 to get back in it.
He almost won it with his birdie on No. 18 in regulation, but left a 15-foot putt inches short after backing off it to re-examine his line.
“Well, the (playoff) putt was a little bit closer, so that was helpful, obviously,” he said. “But yeah, I knew I had to make it. It feels good to win it with a birdie.”
Hitchner said he has “no idea” what the victory will do for his career, but said it goes to show that hard work does pay off.
“I have been working as hard as I can to try to get better, and the results have not reflected that,” he said. “I am just truly grateful.”
Daniel Summerhays ties for 50th
Golfers with Utah ties usually make their presence felt at the Korn Ferry Tour’s annual stop in Utah, but that didn’t happen this year.
Seven golfers with Utah ties entered the 156-player event, but only Farmington’s Daniel Summerhays made the cut. Summerhays shot rounds of 68-63-69-67 to finish in a tie for 50th. He dropped two spots on the KFT points list and is now at 146.
Summerhays shot 31 on the front nine Sunday, having made an eagle 3 on the par-5 3rd hole. However, he played the back nine in 1-over, bogeying the 18th hole.
The cut came at 6-under, meaning that Preston Summerhays (-5) missed by one shot and former BYU golfer Carson Lundell (-3), who won the Colorado Open the prior week, missed by two.