Golf coming back to Utah Summer Games

L-R: Golfers Byron and Billy Casper are shown in this undated photo. Billy Casper (1931-2015) spent more than two decades as a golfer on the PGA Tour. His son, Byron, a respected golf instructor in Utah, will teach a clinic during the 2018 Utah Summer Games golf tournament in June. | Photo courtesy of SUU Community and Academic Enrichment, Cedar City News/St. George News

CEDAR CITY — After a two-year hiatus, golf is coming back to the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games.

Utah Summer Games organizers are adding some swing to the 2018 games by partnering with Southern Utah University’s Community on the Go program and Byron Casper, son of the late PGA legend Billy Casper, by bringing back golf for the first time since 2015.

“The great thing about this golf tournament is that it is for all athletes in Utah no matter their skill level,” said Pace Clarke, director of the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games. “This is a tournament where family members who golf can bring their kids and play together in a fun, yet formal environment.”

Instructor Byron Casper spends time with children of the Billy Casper Youth Foundation, a children’s golf charity, date and location not specified. | Photo courtesy of SUU Community and Academic Enrichment, Cedar City News/St. George News

Clarke said their office gets questions every year about the possibility of golf returning to the games that bring thousands of athletes competing in 40 sports to Cedar City every summer.

“Approximately 35,000 people make their way to the Utah Summer Games to participate or watch a family member participate, and a lot of them love to golf,” he said. “So we are proud to offer golf once again for these athletes.”

SUU Community on the Go Director Melynda Thorpe is an avid golfer, so when she heard the Utah Summer Games needed help organizing the golf tournament, she said it was an easy decision.

“Our office exists to reinforce the important relationship between SUU and the community that supports us,” Thorpe said. “Part of that mission is creating fun events for community members. When we learned the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games was looking to bring golf back into their lineup, it is something that we were excited about.”

Thorpe will serve as co-chair of this year’s tournament, along with her father, Paul Thorpe.

Casper, a St. George resident, will be the guest host of the Larry H. Miller Utah Summer Games golf tournament on June 15 and will also teach a one-day community education golf clinic. Casper’s father, Billy Casper, who died in 2015, was one of the most prolific professional golfers on the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour for more than two decades.

In 2007, Byron Casper moved to Utah and became the first golf professional with GolfTEC Utah and a certified coach and master club fitter for all major golf brands. Byron has published two books on golfing and is actively involved in the Billy Casper Youth Foundation, a youth golfing charity.

“I have been fortunate to have had many unique life experiences due to my father,” Byron Casper said. “My strategy in teaching is simple — helping my students to understand their own swings and making them the best golfer they can be with the minimum amount of changes to their game.”

For more information about the Byron Casper Putt, Chip and Swing clinic or the 2018 Utah Summer Games golf tournament, visit suu.edu/wise, email [email protected] or call 435-865-8529. The one-day tournament, to be staged at Cedar Ridge Golf Course, will feature a four-person scramble (best ball) format, with room for as many as 30 teams. For additional information regarding registration, fees, requirements, deadlines and other details regarding the Utah Summer Games golf tournament, visit the Utah Summer Games website.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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