Former BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn, the 2017 champion, leads weather-delayed Utah Open

A familiar face is atop the leaderboard at the 98th Siegfried & Jensen Utah Open this weekend at Riverside Country Club in Provo.
Former BYU golfer and current PGA Tour player Patrick Fishburn, who won the tournament in 2017 as an amateur by shooting a tournament-record 26-under par in 54 holes, leads again heading into Sunday’s final day of competition.
Although some golfers haven’t concluded their second rounds because of two lightning delays Saturday that suspended play for a total of two hours, 20 minutes, Fishburn sits in first place at -11 through 36 holes.
BYU golfer Cole Ponich, the Utah Men’s State Amateur champion last month at Ogden Country Club, is tied for second at -10 and is trying to become the first golfer since Ed Kingsley in 1936 to win the State Am and the Utah Open in the same year.
Gavin Cohen, a pro from Arizona who played collegiately at Loyola Marymount, is also at -10 and tied for second.
Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:18 p.m. Saturday night. The second round will resume Sunday at 7 a.m. and officials are hoping to get the third and final round started at 10 a.m.
Fishburn, 31, is in his first season on the PGA Tour, but because he did not qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs the Ogden native is playing in his home state this weekend.
Having shot a 3-under 69 on Friday, Fishburn made eight birdies Saturday — taking advantage of his morning tee time before stormy weather engulfed RCC — en route to a 64.
Cohen traditionally plays well at Riverside Country Club. He tied for third last year, carding a 14-under 202 to finish a stroke behind Zac Blair and former University of Utah golfer Javier Barcos. Blair downed Barcos in a playoff that lasted four holes to earn the $22,000 first-place check.
Blair is also in this year’s event — for the same reason as Fishburn is — but has some work to do to catch the leaders. The former BYU golfer and PGA Tour veteran is at -8 and tied for fifth after adding a 66 on Saturday to Friday’s 70.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is at -4 and tied for 20th after a 71 on Saturday.
St. George’s 65 year-old Jay Don Blake, the 1988 champion who is tuning up to play in the PGA Tour’s new Black Desert Championship in October, is tied for 30th at -3.