SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Preston Summerhays is no stranger to big moments on the golf course. In 2020, he played in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot — a tournament he qualified for by winning the U.S. Junior Amateur. In doing so, he joined a prestigious winners circle that includes Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth.
But Summerhays, a Scottsdale native and Arizona State freshman, had never experienced a moment like Thursday afternoon at TPC Scottsdale. Despite being the only amateur in the WM Phoenix Open’s field, he garnered one of the day’s biggest cheers when his name was announced at the first tee.
“It’s really cool to have the crowd chant your name,” said Summerhays, who finished the day 3-over through 16 holes before his round was postponed due to darkness. He finished up Friday morning, making bogey on No. 18 to finish his opening round with a 75. “The applause was pretty big on the first hole.”
It was a moment the Scottsdale Chaparral graduate had long dreamt of. His dad, Boyd, is a golf instructor who coaches Tony Finau, among other PGA pros. In middle school, he served as a standard bearer at this tournament, walking with groups and displaying their scores for fans.
By the time he got to high school, those around Summerhays knew he was destined for the PGA Tour.
“We knew he was special just because of his demeanor,” Dan Peterson, the former Chaparral golf coach, said Thursday, standing beside the 14th green. “He approached the game differently than any kid we’d seen come in.”
Early in Thursday’s round, that demeanor proved critical. On the par 4 second hole, Summerhays played a tidy third shot that nestled just seven feet above the hole.
His par putt, though, lipped out off the right edge. That was bad enough. Then, on his three-foot comebacker, Summerhays caught the left edge. A likely par had crescendoed into double-bogey.
“I was definitely a little bit nervous,” Summerhays said. “Had that adrenaline going.”
Critically, though, the misses didn’t get to his head. As he walked off the green, Summerhays simply handed his putter to Boyd, who is caddying for him this week, and turned his focus towards the next tee box.
From there, his round steadied. A poor bunker shot led to bogey on four before he rattled off eight straight pars.
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Then, on the par-5 13th, Summerhays found the breakthrough he had been searching for, getting up-and-down from the first cut to drop to 2-over.
“Yeah,” Summerhays said of his lone birdie, “finally.”
Although he gave that stroke back with another lip out — this time from four feet — on the following hole, Summerhays was pleased with his driving and ball-striking after the round.
Whether or not he climbs 49 places to squeeze into the top 65 before tomorrow’s cut, though, memories of this week’s play will soon fade. More PGA Tour events, likely by the dozen, will fill Summerhays’ future.
None, though, will offer the culminating moment that Thursday’s round did. As Summerhays walked into the stadium at the 16th hole just past 6 p.m. Thursday night, the remaining fans showered him with chants of “Pres-ton” and “Let’s Go Devils.”
Six of the world’s top 10 players are in Scottsdale this week. Over the course of nine hours Thursday, they too cycled through the 16th hole. Few received the reception that Summerhays did.
Summerhays wasn’t able to punctuate the scene with a birdie, sliding his first putt just past the hole. This time, though, he stepped up and drained his par.
When he did, another chorus of chants broke out behind him. After an afternoon of stoicism, he finally broke character, acknowledging the fans and tossing a ball up towards them.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Summerhays said.
