Boyd Summerhays is one of the top six 18-and-under golfers in the country, but for awhile Thursday it looked like he wouldn't even be one of the four Utah qualifiers for next month's U.S. Junior Amateur.
The 16-year-old from Farmington started the day in a tie for 7th place after a first-day 74 and was 1-over par after nine holes at Park City Golf Course. But his experience came through on the tougher back nine as he shot 2-under par to finish with a 71 and a two-day total of 145.That was good enough for a second-place tie behind West Bountiful's Scott Hailes, who hung on to win medalist honors with a 75 after a first-day 66 at Wasatch Mountain. Summerhays tied with Tad Hunt of St. George (71-74) while Provo's J.D. Overton grabbed the fourth spot with a 146 total.
Summerhays has played in junior tournaments all over the country this summer, but he didn't want to miss the Junior Amateur, which will be played July 25-29 in Fargo, N.D.
"It's the most important tournament of the year for me," he said.
Three golfers tied for fifth at 149 - Derek Fox, Jordan Bloxham and Brock Padilla.