Garner finishes third at 2026 Utah Women’s Open

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — Former BYU women’s golfer Lea Garner shot a 7-under 137 with rounds of 69 and 68 to finish third on Tuesday at the 2026 Larry H. Miller Utah Women’s Open at TalonsCove Golf Club.

Garner was one of nine current or former Cougars in the 74-player field. Three finished in the top 10, and six placed in the top 25.

“I love playing in this tournament every year, supporting women’s golf in Utah and seeing old friends, especially those in the Cougar family,” Garner said.

Garner opened the first round with birdies on Nos. 1 and 3 before making a bogey on No. 4. She offset a birdie on No. 7 with a bogey on No. 8 before making an eagle on the final hole of the front nine to make the turn at 3 under. A double bogey on No. 10 set her back, but Garner responded with birdies on Nos. 13 and 15 to card a 3-under 69.

Garner followed with a bogey-free 4-under 68 in the second round. After playing the front nine at even par, she made birdies on Nos. 12, 15, 16 and 18 to finish the tournament.

“I knew shooting under par was doable for me at this course, so my goal was to do that,” Garner said. “I’m proud that I stayed steady and patient throughout each round and waited for the birdies to come to get two rounds in the 60s.”

Former Cougar Kerstin Ngakuru shot a 6-under 138 to tie for fourth. In the opening round, she offset a bogey on No. 6 with a birdie on No. 9 to make the turn at even par. A bogey on No. 12 and birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 helped the former Utah Women’s Open champion finish with a 1-under 71.

Ngakuru made an eagle on the opening hole of the second round and added birdies on Nos. 6, 7, 9 and 10. Her only bogey came on No. 4 as she carded a 5-under 67.

Current BYU assistant coach Alexandra White rounded out the top 10, shooting a 3-under 141 over 36 holes. White made five birdies and three bogeys in the opening round to record a 2-under 70. After playing the front nine at even par in the second round, she made three birdies and two bogeys to finish with a 1-under 71.

Recent graduate Sunbin Seo shot a 1-under 143 to tie for 12th. After opening with a 3-over 75, she responded in the second round with five birdies and one bogey to card a 4-under 68.

Seniors Whitney Banz and Berlin Long were the only current BYU golfers in the tournament. Banz finished at even-par with rounds of 71 and 73 to tie for 16^th. Long shot 8-over par with rounds of 78 and 74 to tie for 33rd.

Former BYU women’s golf coach Sue Nyhus shot a 5-over 149 with rounds of 76 and 73 to tie for 25th. Juli Erekson, a former BYU assistant coach and the current head coach at Utah Valley, tied for 33rd at 8-over par after rounds of 74 and 78.

Provo native Stephanie Belnap rounded out the group of Cougars in the tournament. She shot 16-over with rounds of 81 and 79 to tie for 51st.

Ali Mulhall won the tournament with a 14-under with consecutive rounds of 65, finishing seven strokes ahead of Garner.