In a recent article over at PGA Tour, writer Sean Martin talks about he unique connection between PGA Tour Champ Tony Finau and the successful Summerhays family.
"A trip to Australia and the opportunity to represent one’s country aren’t the only perks for the participants in the Junior Presidents Cup. The 24 players on the U.S. and International teams get to interact with the elite players who will compete in this year’s Presidents Cup, set for December at Royal Melbourne.
While many juniors will be meeting their heroes for the first time, Preston Summerhays is accustomed to being around the PGA TOUR’s best. That’s what happens when your father is a former TOUR player and successful swing coach. Preston, the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion, already knows several of the players who will compete for captains Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
Summerhays’ father, Boyd, was once the top-ranked junior in the country. He played college golf at Oklahoma State, where his teammates included Charles Howell III and Bo Van Pelt, and played 29 events on the PGA TOUR from 2004-06 before injuries ended his career. Now he is the instructor for Tony Finau, Scott Harrington and Wyndham Clark.
Golf success runs in the Summerhays’ genes. The family has featured multiple generations of successful players. Preston and his sister, Grace, who advanced to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Girls' Junior, are continuing that tradition.
Preston is waiting to see if the TOUR player with whom he has the closest relationship, Finau, also will be in Australia in December. Finau FaceTimed Preston shortly after that U.S. Junior. Am win. They’ve played hundreds of rounds together. Preston calls him “a great influence” on his career."
- Sean Martin
To read the entire article, head on over to PGA Tour's site now!
]]>Preston Summerhays' U.S. Junior Amateur Championship was recently highlighted on Golf.com where they discuss his success and elaborate on how other young, inspiring golfers can learn from him. The excerpt below is from said article:
"A golfer by the surname of Summerhays made headlines last week, but anytime that happens, more details are required. In this instance, it was Preston Summerhays, who won the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship on Saturday, two days before his 17th birthday.
The win established Preston, a native of Utah who now lives in Arizona, as the latest branch to flower on a golf-rich family tree. His great-grandfather, Pres, was a golf coach at the University of Utah. His father, Boyd, is a former PGA Tour pro-turned-instructor, whose students include Tony Finau. There’s also Preston’s uncle, Daniel, who made nearly $9 million in eight seasons on the PGA Tour (2011-2018) and now competes on the Korn Ferry Tour; his great-uncle, Bruce (three-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions); his aunt, Carrie (once an LGPA Tour pro; now a coach at BYU); and his 15-year-old sister, Grace, who is competing this week in the U.S. Girls’ Junior in Wisconsin with Preston on the bag."
- Josh Sens
To read the full article and see videos about his father, Boyd, follow the link over to Golf.com now!
]]>"It was only fitting that Preston Summerhays received the flag from the 17th hole as a memento at the closing ceremony of the 72nd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Inverness Club. His performance on the 489-yard par 4 was the difference in his 2-and-1 victory over Bo Jin in the 36-hole final match on Saturday.
In the morning 18, Summerhays pulled closer to Jin on the dogleg-left hole by purposely hitting his drive down the adjacent 16th fairway, knocking a wedge to 35 feet, and draining the right-to-left curling putt. In the afternoon, Summerhays hit “the shot of his life,” according to his father and coach, Boyd, to set up a match-clinching birdie that gave him the Junior Amateur trophy, as well as a berth in the 2020 U.S. Open Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club.
“I don’t even know how to explain how it felt,” said Summerhays, 16, of Scottsdale, Ariz., after his victory. “It’s just one of my goals being accomplished.”
Summerhays seemed to have taken control in the seesaw match as it turned to the final nine. He birdied the par-4 10th and 11th holes to assume a 2-up lead, his largest of the day, thanks in part to a nice break on No. 11, when his wayward drive ended up on a forward tee for No. 13 and he capitalized by punching a 9-iron to 3 feet.
“I think just to get that momentum going on the last nine, that was a huge part of the match,” said Summerhays, who won his second consecutive Utah Amateur last week. “But it clearly wasn’t over yet.”
- Ron Driscoll
To read the full article about and see more photos from Preston's victory, head over to USGA today!
]]>In a recent article over at USGA, Michael Trostel (senior content producer for the USGA) highlights the success of the Summerhays family in the golf world.
"Several households can lay claim to the title of “First Family of Golf,” including the Nicklauses, Haases, Turnesas and Morrises (of Old and Young Tom fame). But you’d be hard-pressed to find a unit that has had more success in the past few years than the Summerhays family of Utah.
Golf is in their blood. It started in the 1930s and ‘40s, when Pres Summerhays was the head golf coach at the University of Utah. One of his sons, Bruce, won three events on the PGA Tour Champions and earned more than $9 million in prize money.
Another one of Pres’ sons, Lynn, was captain of the golf team at Utah and had two sons of his own: Daniel, who has played eight years on the PGA Tour, earning top-10 finishes in both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in 2017; and Boyd, who won 20 professional tournaments and is now a swing coach for several Tour players, including Tony Finau.
If that golf lineage isn’t impressive enough, the best may be yet to come.
Boyd’s son, Preston, 16, and daughter, Grace, 15, qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls’ Junior, respectively, in 2019. That is the first time a brother and sister have played in those championships in the same year since Scottie and Callie Scheffler in 2012."
- Michael Trostel
To read the entire article, head on over to USGA now!
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Grace Summerhays became the second woman ever to qualify for match play at Utah State amateur. The following excerpt highlights this victory:
"Meanwhile, Summerhays’ sister, Grace, who turned 15 on Tuesday, celebrated her birthday by becoming the second woman ever to make match play at the State Am. She fired an even-par 72 on the Gold Course to finish at 2-over 146 and tied for 29th in stroke-play qualifying.
“I don’t really have anything to lose at this point,” Grace said after matching Annie Thurman Young’s feat from 2004.
Preston seconded that notion, saying he is “super excited for her” and that he knew she could do it.
“She’s a 14-year-old girl,” Preston said, briefly forgetting the birthday. “Whoever plays her is going to have a tremendous amount of pressure on them.”
That will be former USU golfer Brennan Coburn."
- Jay Drew
To read the full article, head on over to the Salt Lake Tribune now!
Grace Summerhays became just the fourth-ever female golfer to qualify for the men’s state amateur. The following highlight from KSL talks about her win:
"Preston Summerhays is only 16 years old, but he’s already accomplished as much in his playing career as many golfers twice his age.
Fresh off a sponsor's exemption in the Korn Ferry Tour's Utah Championship, the defending Utah State Amateur champion will try to join rarified air this week at Soldier’s Hollow golf course by winning two in a row.
He’ll have plenty of competition in his way, though. And one of his biggest competitors may be from his own family.
Grace Summerhays, the 14-year-old daughter of local pro Boyd Summerhays and younger sister of Preston, became just the fourth-ever female golfer to qualify for the men’s state amateur when she shot 1-over-par 73 at Glen Eagle golf course in June.
She joins Annie (Thurman) Young in 2004 and 2005, BYU’s Naomi Soifua in 2017 and Utah Valley’s Carly Dehlin-Hirsch in 2018 as the only female golfers to tee it up in a men’s state amateur. That’s four women in an event that has produced winners ranging from Danny Summerhays to Tony Finau to Zac Blair to Patrick Fishburn and Kelton Hirsch, more recently.
Grace Summerhays will make it four with her first tee shot at the 121st Utah State Amateur, which starts Monday at Soldier Hollow golf course in Midway."- Sean Walker, KSL.com
Recently, Boyd and Tony Finau were featured in a segment from Golf Digest's Undercover Lessons series. The following excerpt is from the article:
"Tour players and their teachers have their own unique way of communicating and working together. With “Undercover Lessons,” you get to eavesdrop on that world. Here, Tony Finau and his coach, Boyd Summerhays, slip on the mics and let us join them at the range. Their focus: driving. Tony ranked fourth on tour in 2018 in driving distance (315.1 yards).
In 26 minutes on the practice tee, you’ll understand why the driver is Tony’s favorite club. Watch him launch ball after ball into the stratosphere, then check out the radar stats and hear the breakdown of each shot. Tony and Boyd’s discussion along the way includes shaping shots, increasing clubhead speed and hitting tight fairways. You’ll learn the subtleties of alignment and setup and the keys to starting the ball on line and controlling the amount of curve. You’ll also hear about the one shot Tony really wants to incorporate into his game and how he prepares for actual tee shots coming up on the PGA Tour.
With full access to Tony’s process, you’ll appreciate what it takes to drive a golf ball 350 yards—and keep it in the fairway. It’s an insightful look at two pros at the top of their games."
- Golf Digest
To read more and watch the entire video, follow the link over to Golf Digest!
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