Arizona State freshman Preston Summerhays returns to his roots at WM Phoenix Open

TEMPE, Ariz. — From the time he was a standard bearer at the WM Phoenix Open at age 10, Preston Summerhays dreamed of one day playing there. Since his amateur golf career took off at age 14, Summerhays worked with the goal in mind of returning to the Phoenix Open.

Nearly a decade after his first trip to the Phoenix Open, Summerhays has found his way to the tournament as one of five sponsor exemptions.

Summerhays, now a freshman on the Arizona State golf team, received the call while practicing in Scottsdale with his dad and younger brother. Much to his dad’s intuition, the call was something worth pulling his phone out to record. Summerhays would be achieving one of his dreams early into his career.

“To get that call and finally know that I’m playing and I’m going to be there, not going to lie, I was trying so hard not to cry. It was such an emotional moment and I worked so hard to get there and for it to finally happen was super special,” Summerhays said.

Summerhays, 19, comes from an accomplished lineage of golfers. His father and coach, Boyd, who played on the PGA Tour and has been Tony Finau’s swing coach since 2014. Preston’s uncle, Daniel, played professionally and had his nephew as standard bearer in Preston’s first trip to the Phoenix Open. Preston’s great-grandfather, Pres, was a golf coach at the University of Utah. Preston is now one of two in the Summerhays family blazing a path in Arizona State’s golf programs. His younger sister, Grace, enrolled early and is currently playing for the women’s team.

Boyd’s oversight of Preston’s career has been critical for him, leading him to be the only choice to be his son’s caddie this week at TPC Scottsdale.

“We’re so close, we try to work together as much we can. He’s been my coach since I was born. We just work so hard together and spend so much time together,” Preston said. “To finally have that accomplishment together is really cool, especially with him on the bag as well.”

The Summerhays family will see another familiar face on the course as Finau is also competing in the tournament. Finau, who lost the 2020 Phoenix Open to Webb Simpson in a playoff, said that Preston has been his “sidekick” since he was nine years old.

“He’s one-of-a-kind off the golf course. He’s got a lot of great qualities about him. I would say he’s super humble, he’s very competitive, just a great kid overall. I don’t think you’ll find a more mature 19-year-old kid,” Finau said. “And then he’s got the game to back up the name he carries. A lot of the guys out here know of him because of me and because of his dad and his uncle.”

Preston has already had an impressive amateur career, competing in the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Barbasol Championship. In 2019, he solidified his status as a name to watch when he won the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.

“The Summerhays family obviously in the state of Utah for golf is a very prestigious family. But he’s going to be the best of all of them. He’ll be the best of all of them and it’s only a matter of time before everyone sees what I see now, but it’s been cool to watch his progression. I can’t say enough good things about him,” Finau said.

The Summerhays family split time between Utah and Arizona when Preston was growing up, and he is a two-time winner of the Utah State Amateur, but he sees this tournament as his home tournament with his family living only five minutes away from TPC Scottsdale.

Summerhays is the second ASU golfer since Jon Rahm in 2015 to play in the Phoenix Open as an amateur. Rahm finished T-5 in that appearance.

This will be Summerhays’ first PGA Tour event playing on a sponsor exemption.

“It’s hard to explain. It’s nothing like any tour event I’ve been to. It’s right in my backyard. That tournament has always meant a lot to me and to finally play in it, it’s really cool,” Summerhays said.