There is plenty left to break down Daniel Summerhays' top-eight finish in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pa.
The week before he teed up in Pittsburgh last week, I hung out with some veteran golf journalists, folks who’ve broken down and evaluated Summerhays' game for more than a decade. The consensus among this brain trust was because of Summerhays' consistent ball striking talent, he’d have a very good chance at Oakmont, considered one of the toughest courses in the world.
That discussion was verified within 48 hours when Summerhays fired the low round of the tournament, a sizzling 65 in the rain-delayed second round.
Summerhays told KSL-TV’s golf show with Rod Zundell before that major that the fine line between getting wins and where he’s stood on the PGA Tour is some precision iron play, the kind displayed by Zack Johnson.
That’s how close this local star is from wins.
The former BYU player and Utah State Amateur champion finished tied for eighth after Sunday’s final round. That group included the world’s No. 1 player Jason Day and the guy he wants to emulate, Zach Johnson, and former major champion Jason Dufner.
Oakmont is a monster. Its layout has humbled and humiliated some of the best players on the planet. Its tricky humps and valley greens with worrisome slopes and speed confronted the field after maneuvering around narrow fairways, killer ditches, bunkers and blind shot fairways and tee boxes.
This is the course that saw defending U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth four-putt. Day had multiple double-bogeys. Phill Mickelson and Rory McIlroy didn’t even make the cut. It thrashed the best in the game, spun them around like a circus ride.
Mickelson told reporters on his way home it was the toughest course the players had played.
But Summerhays?
He opened up with a round of four-over-par 74. He backed that up with that remarkable 65. That round featured seven birdies and two bogeys. He then shot one under par 69 with an eagle putt on the dangerous 17th after driving the green. In Sunday’s final round, he got off to a shaky start with a bogey and made 74. It was a day the final round leader Shane Lowry began his day with a four-shot lead and made 76.
Summerhays wasn’t good enough to overtake winner Dustin Johnson. Nobody was. But he was in the same zip code. He had a chance. He got himself in position.
Victor Johnson's average driving statistic for the four rounds was an astounding 316 yards. This enabled him to fire approach shots at a higher angle than anyone in the field, thus stopping the ball quicker and closer to the target most times.
Summerhays’ average driving distance was a respectable 294 yards, a difference from Johnson of 22 yards. That’s at least a two-club distance on some approach shots, a significant tougher challenge for the Utahn.
Summerhays earned a quarter million bucks for his work at Oakmont and he deserved every penny of it. This was after he barely got in as an alternate after failing to qualify outright at a sectional in Powell, Ohio, the previous week. He has played in two prior U.S. Open championships, missing the cut in 2010, and he tied last year for 27th at Chamber’s Bay near Seattle.
In the press tent, Summerhays spoke of nerves and the big challenge of playing in one of the last groups.
“I knew I was going to be pretty nervous,” he said. “But I was very pleased with how I handled my emotions, how I felt. I just didn’t quite play as well today. A lot of putts slid right past the cup. I drove the ball really well. I wasn’t out of position too often.”
Summerhays, a two-time Utah State Amateur champion, is the first amateur to ever win a Web.com event, the summer before he turned professional. This top 10 finish took him from 68th to 55th in FedEx Cup standings.
Folks, this wasn’t just a great performance by Summerhays at Oakmont, it was a fabulous effort.
It was better than some great ones, guys who couldn’t make the cut. These are Ryder Cup and President Cup players and former major champions. The missed cut list included not only Mickelson and McIlroy but Patrick Reed, Paul Casey, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Brandt Snedeker, Henrick Stenson, Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker.
Daniel entered the lion's den.
He came out just fine.
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