Utah women's state amateur: Westminster's Ashley Lam holds off 6-time champ Kelsey Chugg for title

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Ashley Lam won the Utah women's state amateur, defeating Kelsey Chugg 1 up.
Lam, a Westminster junior, clinched her first title with a 104-yard approach shot.
Chugg, a six-time champion, rallied multiple times but ultimately fell short in Farmington.

FARMINGTON — After giving away a 3-up lead on the final nine holes of the 36-hole final of the 120th Utah women's state amateur, Ashley Lam's caddy turned to her and offered the kind of advice only a brother might dare.

Good thing in the case of Thursday, it was her older brother Sean.

The rising junior at Westminster pitched her approach shot 104 yards within 5 feet of the hole to clinch her first Utah women's state amateur championship, 1 up over six-time champion Kelsey Chugg at Oakridge Country Club.

Lam, who grew up in Taylorsville and was a two-time Utah Ms. Golf honoree at Skyline High School, has done plenty of winning including five tournaments and a co-title with one of her Griffins teammates. The former UJGA junior girls' amateur champion is the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual medalist — now two years' running — and finished the season ranked No. 29 nationally for second-team All-American honors.

But Thursday's win was different, an emotional Lam admitted on the 18th green at Oakridge.

"It seems like a really big Utah tournament, because of all of the support around," said Lam, who made the semifinals of last year's tournament. "You can feel it."

After Chugg rallied to tie the match with back-to-back saves on the 16th and 17th hole, Lam choked up on a pitching wedge and punched her approach shot 104 yards to finish the 36-hole final at 74-73 in total strokes.

Again, Lam gave credit to her brother, a 22-year-old Callaway rep who played a year of college golf at Glendale Community College.

"He told me to lock in," Lam said, "and stop being a little baby.

"I wouldn't mind it from anyone else," she added with a laugh.

Through the opening 9 holes of the scheduled 36-hole championship match Ashley Lam holds a 1-up lead over 6x champion Kelsey Chugg at the 120th Utah Women's State Amateur. Scoring in https://t.co/e91wpLeIct pic.twitter.com/PmTRcjJLH2
— Utah Golf Association (@UtahGolfAssn) July 23, 2026

Chugg, the Weber State hall-of-fame golfer who was 7-1 in UGA women's amateur finals over the past 15 years, came back from a deficit four times. Each time, she looked like a champion.

"I'm proud of myself for making a run like that," Chugg said. "I didn't have my best stuff, but still hung in there and tried to grind it out and stay positive.

"I tried to go deep inside myself, and think, you can do this. Just go through your routine, the normal shots; you know how to hit and make good decisions. I think I leaned on that experience that I had."

Still, the first-time finalist struck early against the six-time champion.

Lam jumped out to a 2-up advantage through eight holes. Chugg pulled one back on the par-4 ninth and evened the match two holes later. She won two of the next three holes, forcing Chugg to rally with back-to-back wins on the 16th and 17th greens to square the match after 18.

Lam did it again on the second go-around, draining a long putt to save par on the par-4 fourth hole to go 2-up. Chugg again battled back, tying the match two holes later before Lam took a 1-up lead at the turn with a birdie on No. 8.

She extended the lead by saving par on the par-4 12th hole. But Chugg wasn't done, claiming three of the next five holes to force the decisive par-4 No. 18.

"Kelsey's a really great player," Lam said, "and I knew I had to keep going and keep playing good golf."

120th Utah women's state amateur

Thursday's 36-hole championship final

Ashley Lam d. Kelsey Chugg, 1 up.

Wednesday's semifinals

Kelsey Chugg d. Rylee Salome, 2 and 1
Ashley Lam d. Samantha Phelan, 19 holes

Wednesday's quarterfinals

Kelsey Chugg d. Grace Summerhays, 2 up
Rylee Salome d. Whitney Banz. 1 up
Ashley Lam d. Rosie Oettli, 5 and 3
Samantha Phelan d. Rachel Lilywhite, 1 up

Tuesday's round of 16

Grace Summerhays d. Ava Schroeder, 5 and 3
Kelsey Chugg d. Brooklyn Maes, 5 and 4
Rylee Salome d. Adley Nelson, 1 up
Whitney Banz d. Gabrielle Roznicki, 5 and 4
Rosie Oettli def. Aadyn Long, 2 and 1
Ashley Lam d. Natalie McLane, 5 and
Rachel Lillywhite d. Nya Palmer, 4 and 3
Samantha Phelan d. Sydney Richards, 5 and 4

Tuesday's round of 32

No. 32 Ava Schroeder def. No. 1 Braylyn Bayer, 2 and 1
No. 16 Grace Summerhays def. No. 17 Hunter Gledhill, 5 and 4
No. 8 Brooklyn Maes def. No. 25 Steph Belnap, 4 and 3
No. 9 Kelsey Chugg def. No. 24 Ellie Jo Olsen, 4 and 2
No. 4 Rylee Salome def. No. 29 Faith Vui, 5 and 4
No. 13 Adley Nelson def. No. 20 Arden Louchheim, 2 up
No. 5 Whitney Banz def. No. 28 Berlin Long, 6 and 4
No. 12 Gabrielle Roznicki def. No. 21 Susan Tiffner, 3 and 1
No. 31 Aadyn Long def. No. 2 Sunbin Seo, 1 up
No. 18 Rosie Oettli def. No. 15 Taylor Weingarten, 2 and 1
No. 26 Natalie McLane def. No. 7 Brynlee Welch, 20 holes
No. 23 Ashley Lam def. No. 10 Jane Olson, 2 up
No. 3 Nya Palmer def. No. 30 Amanda Henneman, 2 and 1
No. 19 Rachel Lillywhite def. No. 14 Brynley Bischoff, 3 and 2
No. 6 Samantha Pheland def. No. 27 Taylyn Wilson, 6 and 4
No. 11 Sydney Richards def. No. 22 Remi Rawlings, 8 and 7

Photos

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