Ryan Hall takes first-round lead at Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health

Things to know

• Korn Ferry Tour rookie Ryan Hall cards a 9-under 62 – the lowest round of his career – to claim the first 18-hole lead/co-lead of his career.
• Ollie Schniederjans, Carter Jenkins and Roberto Díaz trail by one stroke after 8-under 63.
• Seven players stand in position T5 at 7-under, including Kaysville, Utah, resident Daniel Summerhays.
• 13 players finished the first round bogey-free.

First-round lead notes

10 – First-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank andIntermountain Health

0 – First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024

Ryan Hall (Leader/-9)

• Records the lowest round of his Korn Ferry Tour career with a 9-under 62, rolling in eight birdies (Nos. 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18) and an eagle on the par-5 second against one bogey (No. 8)
• First lead/co-lead of his career in what is his 20th start on Tour
• First appearance at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank and Intermountain Health
• Five made cuts in 12 starts on Tour this season with two top-25 finishes (best: T14/UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH)
• Made six starts on PGA TOUR Canada (Now PGA TOUR Americas) in 2022
• Finished T101 finish at Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry to earn conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour to start the 2024 season
• Turned professional in 2022 after four seasons at South Carolina (2018-22), leaving with the lowest career scoring average in program history (70.66)
• Knoxville, Tennessee, native

Quotables

Ryan Hall on his opening round 9-under 62… “Yeah, I did. On the Korn Ferry Tour, you've got to get off to a good start, right? So parred my first hole, went eagle, birdie, 3-under through three. That's kind of what you need to do on this tour to feel like you're not pressing for birdies. So getting off to a fast start helped me feel more comfortable under par and feel like I'm in a good spot for the rest of the round.

Hall on beginning the season with conditional status… “A grind, stressful. I only had two starts probably guaranteed, I Monday qualified twice. Luckily, I've shuffled my up to now I'm in every event now. Yeah, to be honest with you, I'd love to play on the PGA TOUR next season, but keeping my card out here wouldn't be too bad, either. My back's a little bit against the wall, but I'm ready for it and I feel like I'm prepared to win on this tour.

Ollie Schniederjan on coming back from injury… “Yeah, a process with I got a new body and a new swing this year. I haven't been able to play consistent, healthy golf in three or four years. I'm really happy that I'm able to put the work in and fight through whatever comes up, keep working through it. I haven't had anything stop me that's set me back, so I've been able to, you know, when something gets off, I can stay on it, I'm able to figure it out and get back to work the next day. Just haven't been able to do that coming back from hip surgeries and some back stuff and new swing. It's just been a lot going on for me for a long time. I know what I'm doing now, now it's doing it. You can't play at this level if you don't put the work in. I don't need to put a ton of work in, but I need to not be set back and have to stop for a month or two weeks and then start over again. So being able to keep working, put the work in, do at least the minimum to get by preparation wise and play week in, week out, I need to be able to do that. Now that I've been able to do that for a while, I'm very aware of where my body and game and swing are at. Not really working on anything new anymore, it's just the same stuff that I just kind of find where I'm at each day.”

Notes

• Ollie Schniederjans (T2/-8), Carter Jenkins (T2/-8) and Roberto Díaz (T2/-8) are in a three-way tie for second after opening round 8-under 63s.
  • Schniederjans played his round bogey-free, making birdies on Nos. 2, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, 15.
  • Jenkins, who finished T7 at last week’s NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank, logs the lowest opening round of his career on Tour.
• o En route to his 8-under 63, Díaz made two eagles, chipping in on the par-5 second and holed out from 59 yards on the par-4 17th.
• Kaysville, Utah, native Daniel Summerhays (T5/-7), who enters the week No. 38 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, cards a 7-under 64 for the lowest opening round of his career (previous; 65/four times).
  • Summerhays heads into the second seeking his eighth made cut in what is his 10th start at the Utah Championship.
• First-year member Jeffery Kang (T5/-7), who earned Korn Ferry Tour status for the first time this season by medaling at Second Stage of PGA TOUR Q-school presented by Korn Ferry, stands at T5 for the best 18-hole position of his career in what is his 25th start on Tour.
• Ross Steelman (T5/-7) and Mark Goetz (T5/-7) both stand at T5 after bogey-free 7-under 64s and are two of 13 players to finish the first round bogey-free.
• Rising BYU sophomore Cooper Jones (T23/-5), who is making his third start of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour season, posts a bogey-free 5-under 66 with birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 4, 14, 16.
  • Jones, who is an open qualifier this week, made his first career start on Tour at the Compliance Solutions Championship where he finished T16 to earn a second start at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (MC).
• 18-year-old amateur Kihei Akina (T23/-5), who is competing on a sponsor exemption this week, posts a 5-under 66 in his first career start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned even.t
  • The Alpine, Utah, native finished T17 at the 76th United States Junior Amateur Championship last week.