FARMINGTON, UT — Three local golfers, Daniel Summerhays, Patrick Fishburn and Preston Summerhays, have been given sponsor’s exemptions for next week’s Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club. The annual tournament will be just the third event since the PGA’s Korn Ferry Tour started back up after a three-month hiatus.
“Getting an exemption into the field for the Utah Championship is a huge opportunity for young golfers,” said Utah Sports Commission President and CEO Jeff Robbins. “We’re especially proud to be able to support Utah golfers like Patrick, Danny and Preston.”
Besides the three Utah natives, UCLA all-American Jonathan Garrick and Chinese golfer Bobby Bai have also received exemptions and will join the field of 156 golfers for the tournament, which will be played June 25-28.
Daniel Summerhays, 36, played on the PGA Tour for seven seasons from 2011 to 2017 before losing his exempt status and playing part-time in 2018. Last year he competed on the Korn Ferry Tour, making five cuts in 19 events with his best finish being a sixth-place finish at the Utah Championship.
The 27-year-old Fishburn is a native of Ogden, and he earned conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour by finishing fifth on the McKenzie Tour Order of Merit. He has played in four Korn Ferry Tour events this year and stands 38th on the points list thanks to a fourth-place finish at the Club de Bogota Championship in Colombia in February. He received an exemption for the 2018 event in Utah and finished in a tie for 24th place.
Preston Summerhays is 17 years old and has already won the Utah State Amateur Championship twice. He received an exemption to last year’s tournament at Oakridge and played well with a 144 total in two rounds that left him just two strokes off the cutline.
The Korn Ferry Tour took a break because of the coronavirus pandemic in March, but it recently returned with a stop in Florida last week and another this week before moving to the Utah Championship next week, Thursday through Sunday. This year’s tournament will be conducted under a COVID-19 protocol put in place by the Korn Ferry Tour, Utah Sports Commission and other partners, with only golfers, caddies and tournament officials allowed onto the course following strict protocols.