There might not be a better match play golfer in the history of the state of Utah than Kelsey Chugg, a 35-year-old amateur who continues to defy the odds on the golf course.
The associate director of golf for Salt Lake City was at it again on Wednesday at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington, winning a pair of matches against much younger players to advance to the 36-hole championship match of the 120th Women’s State Amateur.
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Chugg will face Taylorsville’s Ashley Lam, a Westminster University golfer who prepped at Skyline High, in Thursday’s final match at 7:30 a.m. as Chugg chases her seventh title and Lam her first.
It will be the eighth championship match for Chugg, who is 6-1 in title matches in 15 appearances in the Utah Women’s State Amateur and now has a 45-8 record in State Am matches, according to Kurt Kragthorpe of Fairways Magazine.
Chugg advanced Wednesday with a 2 up victory over another former champion, 2020 winner Grace Summerhays of Scottsdale, Arizona. Summerhays recently completed her college career at Arizona State and was playing in only her second event after taking nearly nine months off due to wrist injuries.
Summerhays was trying to become the first State Am contestant to beat Chugg twice in match play, but fell behind early and made a late run, only to see Chugg birdie the 18th hole and win the match.
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In the semifinals, Chugg outlasted New Mexico State’s Rylee Salome 2 and 1, after Salome eliminated BYU golfer Whitney Banz 1 up in the quarterfinals.
In the win over Salome, Chugg was 4 under par in 17 holes, and Salome was 2 under.
Lam is coming off a remarkable sophomore season at Westminster in which she was named to the 2025-26 Women’s Golf Coaches Association Second Team All-American roster. She also made the WGCA All-Region Team this spring.
She has been the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual champion in both of her seasons at Westminster.
Lam downed Salt Lake City’s Rosie Oettli 5 and 3 in the quarterfinals, and then staged perhaps the match of the tournament with Utah Tech golfer Samantha Phelan. Lam won in 19 holes after neither golfer led by more than one hole the entire match.
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Lam was playing in the semifinals for the second straight year, and broke through this time after falling short at Wasatch Mountain State Park a year ago.
Ashley Lam chips onto the green while playing in the 120th Utah Women’s State Amateur golf tournament at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. | Fairways Media/Randy Dodson and Garrit Johnson
Wednesday’s match-play results
Quarterfinals
No. 9 Kelsey Chugg def. No. 16 Grace Summerhays, 2 up
No. 4 Rylee Salome def. No. No. 5 Whitney Banz, 1 up
No. 23 Ashley Lam def. No. 18 Rosie Oettli, 5 and 3
No. 6 Samantha Phelan def. No. 19 Rachel Lillywhite, 5 and 3
Semifinals
Chugg def. Salome, 2 and 1
Lam def. Phelan, 19 holes
Thursday’s 36-hole championship match
Chugg vs. Lam, 7:30 a.m.
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