PHOENIX — "This is going to be the highlight of my career so far," Preston Summerhays, ASU freshman golfer said.
The up-and-coming golfer is set to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open when play tees off later in February. A dream come true for the ASU freshman.
"I live 5 minutes away from the course," Summerhays said. "And that atmosphere, I think it's going to be really cool. I've been going to this course since I was 10 years old and I've been trying to qualify for it ever since I was 14."
The addition of Summerhays puts the ASU golfer in some elite company, becoming just the second ASU golfer since Jon Rahm in 2015 to play in the Phoenix Open as an amateur. Rahm finished T-5 in that appearance.
"I am going to be playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people which I've never done before so it's going to be a completely new experience," The freshman golfer said. "I think more than nerves, I am just going to be more excited."
Excited not only to play in a PGA Tour event, but to do so alongside his coach and father, Boyd. In fact, Boyd has been Preston's coach ever since he started to play golf and is currently a swing coach on Tour.
"He's going to be on the bag during the Waste Management Open with me," Summerhays said. "So to have that and share that experience together is something I will remember for the rest of my life."
The Scottsdale native has already had a great start to his amateur career, competing in the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Barbasol Championship. Back in 2019, Summerhays was also the winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
It may be a long shot to expect this up-and-coming golfer to finish atop the leaderboard come Sunday. But it's an experience like this that will hopefully propel Summerhays into the PGA spotlight in the years to come.
"One of my goals is to be prepared and confident when I tee it up Thursday," Summerhays said. "Just knowing that I put in all the work to be able to compete and be ready to compete with the best guys in the world."
The 2022 WM Phoenix Open is scheduled to be played February 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale.
