Currently serving a service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Liechty continued plowing ahead Wednesday at the Utah State Amateur, opening match play with a round-of-64 victory over Highland native Dylan McDaniel by a score of 3 and 2.

The Utah Tech commit, reporting to campus in 2025, shot 5-under with his younger brother, Ryan, caddying for him through both rounds of stroke play to make the bracket. Liechty opened match play feeling it right from his 9:03 a.m. start at Ogden Golf and Country Club.

“First tee shot I piped,” Liechty, placing second at last year’s championship beneath champion Simon Kwon, said. “I haven’t been shooting the driver great this week so I was super happy with that.”

Four consecutive bogeys, a few “bad wedges,” and a putting speed that wasn’t up to snuff with the Layton grad’s standards weren’t enough to stop Liechty from advancing into the round of 32.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

It’s natural for Liechty to dig in when times get tough.

That characteristic became quite evident when Liechty tore his MCL a week before the Region 1 tournament a year ago – the same tournament he won as a junior at Layton. He returned two weeks later from physical therapy to place fifth at the state tournament.

Liechty flashed that resilience Wednesday as temperatures soared above 100 degrees by early afternoon. On the scene in the heat was Brad Sutterfield, Liechty’s soon-to-be head coach and former 1992 state amateur champion.

The former BYU golfer, who played collegiately from 1987 to 1994, struck a chord with Liechty during his recruitment while prepping at Layton.

“I was trying to talk to any school I really could,” Liechty said. “And then Utah Tech stood out. I obviously prayed about it, but I like their practice facilities and (Sutterfield) is awesome. I like a lot of the guys going down there too, so there’s a lot of things going into it.”

Asked about the St. George area and southern Utah, Liechty said he’s encouraged by the quality of courses near Utah Tech and is looking forward to the terrain change. Moreso, Liechty is pumped about sharing the next stage of his career with his family.

“Golf’s a big part of our lives,” Liechty said. “My dad comes to a lot of my tournaments and my mom comes as much as she can.”

Liechty will challenge John Cook (Utah State) in the round of 32; Cook finished a stroke above Bonneville alum Carsen Dopp on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Davis High alum Cole Ponich (BYU) used 22 holes to top Caleb Norton (Lone Peak) by a single stroke to advance into Thursday.

RESULTS, THURSDAY MATCHUPS

• No. 2 Cole Ponich (BYU) defeated No. 63 Caleb Norton (Lone Peak) in 22 holes and meets No. 34 Dan Horner at 9:12 a.m. Thursday.

• No. 58 Jack Summerhays (Davis) advanced 3 and 1 over No. 7 Cooper Cannon (Layton) and meets No. 26 Elijah Turner at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

• No. 12 Cole Ogden (BYU) advanced 4 and 3 over No. 53 Preston Cheney and meets No. 44 Jacob Marx at 9:03 a.m. Thursday.

• No. 15 Hayden Banz (Weber State) advanced 3 and 2 over N0. 50 Devin Tovey (Highland) and meets No. 18 Parker Bunn (Bonneville HS) at 9:21 a.m. Thursday; Bunn advanced 2 and 1 over No. 47 Sterling Peterson.

• No. 32 Brendan Thomas (Weber State) advanced 2 up over No. 33 Cole Enlow and meets No. 1 seed Tyson Shelley at 8 a.m. Thursday.

• No. 36 Carsen Dopp (Bonneville) lost 1 up to No. 29 John Cook (Utah State). Cook meets No. 4 David Liechty (Layton) at 8:36 a.m. Thursday.

Winners advance to the Round of 16, scheduled to begin around 11:30 a.m.

The full bracket can be viewed online at golfgenius.com/pages/4590068.

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.