How does a person who launches into fame and fortune remain grounded? For professional golfer Jay Don Blake, it’s all about staying tethered to his family. Although golf is an individual sport, for Blake it’s always been a family affair.
St. George News invites readers to step inside the clubhouse for a look at Blake’s incredible life as part of its feature, “Southern Utah Profiles.”
Ilene Blake is pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
The Blake family was among the first golfers ever to play at Dixie Red Hills Golf Course when it opened in the mid-1960s. Jay Don Blake credits his older brother, Ward, for introducing the family to the sport. Soon, both parents were playing in summer leagues. The youngest of eight children, Blake – then just 8 years old – tagged along, serving as a caddie for his mother, Ilene, and his father, LaVer.
It didn’t take long for him to get hooked on the sport. Blake hung around the course so much that they put him to work picking up balls on the driving range. In this way, Blake was able to finance his own golf.
“Instead of paying me, they gave me free rein on the golf course,” Blake said. “My parents signed me up for a junior clinic, and they showed me how to hold the club a little better.”
After playing golf in the sizzling St. George sun, Blake liked to cool off at the city pool, doing flips off the diving board. When he couldn’t make it to the golf course, Blake would hit balls in Vernon Worthen Park, aiming for trees instead of holes. He enjoyed playing basketball, football and baseball with his brothers and friends, but none of these sports ever intrigued him as much as golf did.
Blake played on the golf team at Dixie High School, earning the state championship in his sophomore and junior years. This led to a full-ride golf scholarship at Utah State University, where he won 17 tournaments, including the NCAA individual championship. He also earned the first-team All-American honors twice and was named Collegiate Player of the Year.
Jay Don Blake follows through after hitting a golf shot, location and date not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
“My whole process of dreams, desires and goals with golf was to take me to the PGA Tour,” Blake said.
Blake’s college career was intermingled with raising a young family. Blake was married to Kim Chamberlain, and together they had two children: Jamie and Bridgette. Chamberlain went on to marry Fred Topalian, and they traveled with the Blake family to various PGA events. Topalian said watching Blake advance as a golfer was an exciting time.
“There was never a time when our two daughters and I weren’t cheering and watching him on TV,” Topalian said.
Blake and Topalian’s daughter, Jamie Andrew, said she enjoyed being on the tour, mingling with fans, volunteers and the media.
Jay Don Blake holds club, location and date not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
“My favorite part is the relationships that we have built,” Andrew said. “The tour itself becomes a family with the same group of people moving from location to location.”
Blake’s success as a member of his college golf team was officially recognized in 1995, when he was inducted into the Utah State University Athletics Hall of Fame and again in 2011 when he was honored by the Utah Golf Hall of Fame.
There is no such thing as an overnight success. Many people who “make it” in any endeavor usually spend years honing their skills. For Blake, the road to the PGA took seven years of grueling work and travel. Despite his achievements as a collegian, Blake wasn’t offered sponsor exemptions, making the road to success even more challenging. He supported his family by playing in smaller tournaments, which cost money to enter but paid well for the winners.
“You put your money in a pot and hope you can come out on top or somewhere near there,” Blake said. “Your entry fee for the whole package was about $5,000.”
Jamie, Jay Don and Bridgette Blake pose with a golf trophy from Shearson Lehman Brothers Tournament, Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California, circa 1991.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake, St. George News
His first professional victory came in 1991 when Blake won the PGA event in San Diego. Blake knew he’d shot a great round, with his family coming onto the course to congratulate him. But because there were other golfers still playing behind him, Blake’s fate was unknown for quite some time. Blake recalls sitting in the clubhouse, waiting to see if he had won.
“When it came down to the last tally, I remember having to sit down in a chair,” Blake said. “I put my head on the table and just started crying.”
Being on the PGA Tour brought with it even more formidable competition. The upside was that Blake was now working among his golf idols, including Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino.
“I tried to emulate them,” Blake said. “I was intimidated but also felt like they were just normal guys working as hard as I was.”
Blake remembers his children running onto the green when he won his first PGA event.
“My dream was to win a professional tour event. When it happened, my family was there to celebrate it,” Blake said. “It was an incredible moment.”
That same year, Blake racked up six top-10 finishes, along with several international wins. Blake continued to do well on the PGA Tour, consistently finishing in the top 10.
Blake and Topalian’s daughter, Bridgette Gardner, fondly remembers traveling on the tour, rooting for her father.
“You get to watch every ounce of his strength, every setback and every progression,” Gardner said. “By the end, you’ve witnessed his perseverance finally culminate in something beyond triumph.”
Later in his career, Blake began to play on the Champions Tour. It was during this time that he scored a big win at the 2011 Songdo IBD Championship in South Korea and another at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Marci Blake caddies for Jay Don Blake, location and date not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
Blake and Kim Topalian continued to co-parent their children while he was on tour, keeping the family unit intact. This period also marked the start of a new relationship for Blake. When Blake met Marci DeKeyser, he knew he’d found his new love, even if she didn’t know it at the time.
Blake frequented a store in Las Vegas called North Beach Leather where she worked. DeKeyser initially refused his offers for a date because she didn’t think it was appropriate to go out with a customer. Blake eventually wore her down, convincing her to join him for a “Masters thing.”
Blake brought his family along on his first date with DeKeyser. The group attended the prestigious Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in 1993. Blake rented a home with enough rooms for everyone. The room he reserved for DeKeyser was princess-themed, complete with a canopied bed.
“It was just incredible,” DeKeyser said. “I found my prince charming.”
Not wanting this first date to end, Blake proposed to DeKeyser, and they eventually married in 1996. Marci Blake went on to serve as her husband’s caddie for 10 years on the PGA Champions Tour, including the time he won the Boeing Classic in 2012. Marci Blake thoroughly enjoyed her work, even though it involved carrying a heavy bag for long distances on courses that were often hilly.
“Jay Don is probably the easiest guy to caddy for,” Marci Blake said. “He reads all his own yardages and putts.”
Blake was never attracted to the potential trappings that come with being a famous golfer because he already had what he valued most: his family at his side. Blake’s growing family continued joining him at PGA events, cheering him on. Along the way, Blake also shot 29 holes in one.
“I’m actually waiting for the 30th,” Blake said.
Although Blake was enjoying success in his career, it didn’t come without complications. He said back problems kept him sidelined from several events.
“I’ve always been very cautious of my movements, trying not to overwork and over-stress it,” Blake said.
Family and friends cheer on Jay Don Blake at Black Desert Championship, Ivins, Utah, circa October 2024.
Photo courtesy Jay Don Blake, St. George News
Blake made his 500th PGA Tour start in October 2024 at the Black Desert Championship. Marci Blake served as his caddie on the first hole, with Rusty May, Blake’s nephew, caddying for the rest of the tournament. Blake’s daughter, Jamie Andrew, has fond recollections of that day.
“We bumped into longtime Tour friend and now broadcaster Billy Ray Brown,” Andrew said. “Billy Ray walked out to say ‘hello’ to Dad in the fairway, and when he came back to us along the ropes, he was all choked up with emotion.”
As a way to give back to the community that helped Blake establish his career, he sponsors the Jay Don Blake Golf Tournament, which enables young golfers to advance in the sport. Held at a variety of courses in St. George, winners move on to the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego.
“That’s probably the biggest junior golf tournament in the world,” Blake said. “It’s a stepping stone for them to get into the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, North Carolina.”
What is Blake’s advice to other golfers?
“Swing hard in case you hit it,” Blake said.
Playing together, staying together
A man with strong family values, Blake refused to become an absentee father, instead taking his family with him on the road whenever possible. The clan continued to grow with the additions of Marci Blake’s son, Patrick Amico, and the eventual birth of Jay Don and Marci Blake’s child, Miranda Vernon.
As a child, Vernon spent her summers traveling to PGA events with her family. Vernon remembers these outings as some of the best experiences of her life.
Jay Don and Marci Blake face family on photo shoot, date and location not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
“Getting to travel, watch and support my dad while he competed at such a high level is something I’ll always treasure,” Vernon said. “Seeing firsthand the dedication, discipline and love he puts into the game inspires me every single day.”
Kim Topalian remains an integral part of the family fabric, sharing hosting duties for family get-togethers and joining the Blakes on several memorable trips, including Paris and Hawaii.
“The two combined families felt like one,” Topalian said. “The pride I still have watching Jay Don and seeing our grandchildren idolize their grandpa has always been my dream in life.”
The Blake family now has 10 grandchildren to dote over. The spectator situation has reversed with Jay Don and Marci Blake cheering from the sidelines in a dizzying number of sports activities involving their grandchildren. And this doesn’t count watching Patrick Amico serve as head basketball coach at Pine View High School. Amico said Jay Don Blake served as a great role model, especially as he was launching his own career.
“I had an amazing childhood because of his work ethic and sacrifice,” Amico said. “It all comes back to sacrifice and giving back.”
Amico said he also admires how Blake takes junior golfers under his wing.
“He’s always willing to help others and give back,” Amico said. “That is what coaching is all about – helping students by giving back, passing knowledge to them and helping them become great young men.”
Blake isn’t afraid to show deep emotions for his family, especially about his parents and siblings who have died.
“A perfect day would be to have my parents, brothers and sisters – the family that we developed – just to be together again,” Blake said.
Cars, guitars and cinnamon rolls
Somewhere along the way, Blake cultivated a need for speed. Once again, it was his brother, Ward, who sparked his interest. Blake participated in drag races on the old Airport Road in Washington County, starting with a Chevy Nova II – something he called “a decently fast car.” From there, his interest grew to the point where he had a professionally built hot rod.
“It actually got me away from golf a little bit,” Blake said. “Then, when I came back to golf, I was fresh and had the desire to work on the game.”
Blake’s interest in guitars isn’t as straightforward. He still hasn’t learned to play despite owning at least a dozen guitars. Many of them were purchased at charity auctions, his favorites adorning the walls of his office.
“I just love the guitar – the strings and the sound they create,” Blake said.
Musically, Blake likes to listen to soft rock, country and top 40. Jay Don and Marci Blake are also fans of Bruno Mars and like to have music playing when they are driving the cart on the golf course.
Jay Don Blake’s homemade cinnamon rolls are pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Photo courtesy of Jay Don Blake
When the Blake family gathers for Thanksgiving, one confection they’ll be expecting is homemade cinnamon rolls. Blake said he developed a hankering for Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and decided to learn how to make his own.
“I make them from scratch,” Blake said. “I buy everything and lay it out on the table and make some good little cinnamon rolls.”
For Blake, cinnamon rolls are just one ingredient in his recipe for a sweet life focused on family, with a little golf thrown in for flavor.
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Jay Don Blake’s family vacations at Disney World, Florida, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake holds club, location and date not specified.
Jamie, Jay Don and Bridgette Blake pose with a golf trophy from Shearson Lehman Brothers Tournament, Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California, circa 1991.
Jay Don Blake follows through after hitting a golf shot, location and date not specified.
Jay Don Blake stands by a custom golf cart, Dixie Red Hills Golf Course, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Ilene Blake is pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake’s homemade cinnamon rolls are pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake’s custom race car is pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don and Marci Blake face family on photo shoot, date and location not specified.
Family and friends cheer on Jay Don Blake at Black Desert Championship, Ivins, Utah, circa October 2024.
Marci Blake caddies for Jay Don Blake, location and date not specified.
Jay Don Blake proposes to Marci Blake, location and date not specified.
Jay Don Blake’s family vacations at Disney World, Florida, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake holds club, location and date not specified.
Jamie, Jay Don and Bridgette Blake pose with a golf trophy from Shearson Lehman Brothers Tournament, Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California, circa 1991.
Jay Don Blake follows through after hitting a golf shot, location and date not specified.
Jay Don Blake stands by a custom golf cart, Dixie Red Hills Golf Course, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Ilene Blake is pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake’s homemade cinnamon rolls are pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don Blake’s custom race car is pictured, St. George, Utah, date not specified.
Jay Don and Marci Blake face family on photo shoot, date and location not specified.
Family and friends cheer on Jay Don Blake at Black Desert Championship, Ivins, Utah, circa October 2024.
Marci Blake caddies for Jay Don Blake, location and date not specified.
Jay Don Blake proposes to Marci Blake, location and date not specified.