Preston Summerhays Misses Cut, Finishes Better Than Tiger Woods In Major Tournament Debut

Sep 18, 2020, 4:08 PM

Preston Summerhays of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the 120th U.S. Open Championship on September 17, 2020 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

BY TOM HACKETT, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The youngest player in the field at the 120th US Open Championship, Preston Summerhays, will likely miss the cut following a second-round that involved a lot of bogeys and not enough birdies at a barbarous Winged Foof Golf Club.

The top 60 players in the field make the cut ahead of the weekend, currently, Summerhays is in a tie for 88th.

Preston Summerhays and @TonyFinauGolf used to play for milkshakes.🥤

Now, Uncle Tony is welcoming him to the U.S. Open. pic.twitter.com/Cb5n1QUElh

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 16, 2020

Tough Day At The Office

Summerhays, 18, finished with a combined eight bogeys and just one birdie to conclude his two rounds with a combined score of plus nine. His lone birdie came on the first hole before concluding with eight bogeys, five of them coming on the front nine.

Summerhays was not the only player to struggle on Friday. Tiger Woods finished with a seven-over-par second round to finish plus ten and Jordan Spieth is currently 10 over through 15 holes.

The 120th US Open Championship was Summerhays’ first major tournament of his career. The young prodigy had his father, Boyd Summerhays, who also acts as Tony Finau’s swing coach. The Summerhays family has a rich golfing history.

Notes from @usopengolf
2x Utah State Am champ Preston Summerhays T57 at (+2) 72 said,
"Tony the other night, he was like, 'Hey, Preston, just go have fun
tomorrow. You deserve to be here, no matter what you do, it's going to be a great experience.'”
📸: @USGA Chris Keane pic.twitter.com/n9RcxKzFmQ

— Randy Dodson (@RandyatFairways) September 18, 2020

Summerhays Was Not Alone

Only two players, Bubba Watson and Bryson DeChambeau, finished their second rounds below par.

The challenging Winged Foot Golf Club grew its teeth during the second day of play as the winds picked up and the greens dried. In order to score and put yourself in a position to succeed at Winged Foot, the players must find the fairways, but with how narrow the fairways play and with the wind picking up, finding the cut grass is certainly easier said than done.

Summerhays is a two-time Utah state amateur champion. Last year, he won the 2019 U.S Junior Amateur Championship subsequently qualifying for the 2020 US Open.