Fantastic finish lifts Julian Suri to victory in the Utah Championship

Former Duke University golfer has five birdies on the back nine and claims his first Korn Ferry Tour win

Journeyman golfer Julian Suri won the Utah Championship on Sunday at Ogden Country Club, shooting a 63 in the final round and claiming his first Korn Ferry Tour victory.

Suri, of St. Augustine, Fla., had five birdies on the back nine on Sunday, including one on the par-4 18th hole, after starting the stretch run with a bogey on the 10th hole. He finished with an 18-under-par 262.

Surry won by two strokes, with five players sharing second place: Spencer Levin, Barend Botha, Trace Crowe, Kensei Hirata and Taylor Montgomery.

“You can look at the leaderboards and get wrapped up in all the stuff going on in the moment, but … you’ve got to keep executing, and I was able to do that,” Suri said in an interview on the Golf Channel.

Suri, 34, has spent most of his time in recent years playing overseas. He won the European Tour’s Made in Denmark tournament in 2017, along with the Challenge Tour’s Real Czech Challenge. Born in New York, he played collegiately for Duke University.

The Utah Championship marked his 39th start on the Korn Ferry Tour. He started the final round five shots behind co-leaders Montgomery and Robby Shelton.

Shelton, who shared a two-shot lead entering the final round, shot a 1-over-par 71 on Sunday and finished in a tie for seventh place at 15-under-par 265.

Montgomery shot even-par 70 and finished as a runner-up for the sixth time on the Korn Ferry Tour, tying a tour record for the most second-place finishes.

Utah native Preston Summerhays, who scored 65 on Sunday, was among six players who tied for seventh.

Preston’s uncle, former BYU golfer Daniel Summerhays, finished tied for 22nd place at 12 under par, making only his third start of the season since returning from back surgery.

The Korn Ferry Tour is sanctioned by the PGA, and gives players a path toward earning their PGA Tour card.