Under a canopy provided by the Cyprus mountain, block “C” and Kennecott Copper Smelter towering overhead and with birdsong piercing the morning air as gulls headed northwest toward the Great Salt Lake, Magna’s Copper Golf Club played host to 14 high school teams including Bingham’s for the Utah Prep Invitational Aug. 8.  

Bingham finished 10th out of 14 teams at about the time that the summer heat pushed away the tolerable air like a blast furnace. But, an eighth place 71 shot by Miner golfer Krew Heward gave Bingham and its team some hope and a refreshing outlook headed into the season opener. 

The most improvement any team has tends to come between its first and second week of the season. 

For the Miners, that occurred right before the first tournament in Region 2 got underway. Once it had, Bingham golfer Parker Young nearly won Aug. 13 at River Oaks, finishing three strokes at a 69, right behind Jaxon Erickson of Riverton. Miner Connor Oettli was sixth. As a team, the Miners hit 296, good for fourth place. 

During the third week of action and the second in region play, Bingham was playing the course at Lakeside in northwest Utah County. The Miners had just one finisher in the top 15 individually. Bingham’s Will Johnson found himself in a tie for fourth along the shores of Utah Lake with a score of 73. The Miners stayed steady in fourth, teamwise. 

Perhaps the most progress for the Miners came between the fourth and fifth weeks. A bit further to the north, Talon’s Cove played host to Bingham and the other teams in Region 2. Heward was back in a steady flow, nearly finishing in the top two. His 72 earned Heward a tie for third place, his best finish since that eighth place to open the season. 

Oettli grabbed his second top 10 finish in three weeks, coming in with a 10th place score of 75. 

Individually, the Miners now have two golfers in the top 15 in Region 2: Oettli sits in ninth while Heward is in 12th. 

What’s even more interesting is that Bingham as a team now has a driver’s seat in third place in the region. 

As they head into the final few weeks of Region 2, the Miners look like a team that could shave off 14 strokes and perhaps win a region medal—not to mention take home some individual bling. 

Add a little team-building to the equation—since there are probably a handful that don’t necessarily know each other—and this is even a squad that can contend for some hardware at state. 

The Bingham Miners 2025-26 golf team is: Will Barrick, Preston Jack, Parker Young, Krew Heward, Champ Carlson, Connor Oettli, Sean Robison, Charles Stevens, David Peirce, Jack Stevens, Abram Never, Carter Cantwell, Conklin Thompson, Linken Cromar, Caleb Bennion, Carter Orme, William Johnson, Luke Wright, Landon Jack, Oscar Passey, Case Hasegawa, Garrett Young, Tadashi Miyasaki and Tate Kirkham.