Davis

First Team All-State golfer Max Landon wasn’t thrilled with his play at the end of his junior year last fall but those emotions were completely flipped as he hoisted the Region 1 medalist trophy Oct. 3 at Riverbend.

“It felt super nice after years of hard work and a consistent tournament schedule and to see it pay off as a senior is awesome,” Landon said.

“It was exciting to see Max do so well after working really hard and being quite dedicated,” Max’s mom Karen said. 

“Watching Landon play at region, I couldn’t help but think that our boy is growing up and launching himself into the world,” Max’s dad Chris Landon said. “It was a bittersweet glimpse and a proud moment for sure.”

Landon shot a 72 on Day One at The Bluff Oct. 1 and bested that with a 68 at Riverbend two days later to tie for second in the event. His finish, culminated with his season results, earned him the top overall honors in the region.

“His play was impressive,” said head coach Josh Roberts.

As a team, the Darts took fourth – with a team score of 593 – on scores of 74 by Jacob Merrill a 76 for Jackson Gross and a 77 by Jack Christiansen.

“We played pretty solid,” Roberts said. “Jacob played really well. We ended up five strokes behind first place. Our region is very good so to have five teams all within seven strokes of each other at region is pretty impressive.”

The season ends for Davis at the 6A state championship Oct. 14-15 at Riverbend.

“We are setting our sights on the State Championship now,” Roberts said. 

As a 9-year-old living in New England, Max Landon noticed a golf driving range and asked his dad to take him, introducing both of them to the game.

Max was already a top snowboarder, placing third at the 2015 Nationals in Colorado at the age of seven, and found another individual sport to fall in love with. “I loved snowboarding because it was all on you, but it started to get more competitive and scary with the more difficult jumps and so within a few years I was all in on golf,” he said.

In his first full season as a 10-year-old, Max won 7 of 13 PGA junior tournaments and finished in the top three in the six events and he hasn’t looked back since. Since moving to Utah in 2018, he has been a two-time All-Region player and earned First Team All-State honors last season. This fall, he tied for medalist honors in three Region 1 tournaments while finishing in the top four in all others.

Golf – “the biggest mental game on earth,” according to Max – has brought the concept of equanimity to the Davis High senior. “I have learned so much about how to keep a level head with what happens that I do or don’t like,” he said. His dad Chris has also drilled that lesson into his son over the years as he has caddied and followed him at tournaments. “We talk so much about how to manage emotions in triumph and disappointment, through good and bad breaks,” Chris Landon said. “Golf is going to give you bumps and you can’t get married to highs and lows. You just have to breathe and carry on. The course is really a dress rehearsal for life.”

Max is currently assessing his options to play collegiately with plans to stay in the game at some level beyond that. “I’ve had a lot of success in this game seven years in and I plan to continue to get better. I love it and hopefully have many more years ahead. he said. “The job’s not finished.”

He currently works as a cart boy at Oakridge Country Club, where his dad is an assistant superintendent, and would like to eventually teach golf at some level. 

“I have to thank my parents and coach Roberts and coach Graviet,” Max Landon said. “Those four have supported me the whole time, when I’m at my best and then they’ve also seen me at my worst. They have been such assets to my game.”

Farmington

Farmington’s Jack Summerhays shot a 65 on Day Two of the Region 1 tournament at Riverbend to take first while also leading the Phoenix squad to a second-place showing as a team, two strokes back of Syracuse.

Also placing in the top 10 for Farmington were Tate Gibb, who tied for seventh, and Madden Streiff who tied for eighth. λ