Utah Section PGA Teaching Professional Joe Summerhays Qualifies For PGA Championship

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Joe Summerhays, 49, has qualified for golf’s next major tournament, the PGA Championship, after finishing in a tie for eighth at the PGA Professional Championship.

Summerhays becomes the 10th Utah section PGA professional to qualify for the PGA Championship over the past decade. His last appearance at the PGA Championship came in 2016 when he missed the cut after posting a two-round total of six-over-par while his cousin Daniel Summerhays finished third that year.

He will join fellow Utahn and world number 12 Tony Finau at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Finau shared his congratulations via a social media post.

A video message from @PGATOUR superstar @tonyfinaugolf to @UtahSectionPGA superstar Joe Summerhays. #utahgolf @PGA pic.twitter.com/RzSm1S8Upl

— Randy Dodson (@RandyatFairways) April 29, 2021

Utah Grown

Summerhays is currently the teaching pro at Eagle Lake Golf Course and Oakridge Country Club in Utah. He needed a top 20 finish to advance to the tournament and made life difficult for himself following a wayward tee shot on 18 that found the trees up the left. A bogey on 18 and he would have had to endure a four-man playoff to secure the final spot.

However, he was able to navigate the golf ball through a crowd of trees and trickle the ball onto the green. Two putts later and he was in for par. He concluded the tournament at even par, good enough for a tie for eighth.

Fellow Utahn and former PGA Tour professional Jeff Brehaut were also in the field. He ended in a tie for 40th with a final score of five-over-par.

The PGA Championship will take place between May 20-23 at the aforementioned Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.