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FARMINGTON — In another month, Cooper Jones will stow away his golf clubs for two years to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru.
But he's making plenty good use of his final summer of golf before then.
Playing in his third Korn Ferry Tour event in his home state, Jones shot 5-under-par 66 Saturday to move into a tie for 18th at 14-under in the Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club.
"It was fun on Monday to qualify for another one, and then to come out and play well," said Jones, the reigning Utah state amateur runner-up who shot 63 at Bonneville in a Monday qualifier. "I think it just proves what I thought in my first two, that I'm good enough to belong out and to play well out here, but this has been fun."
Jones started the day strong with back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes en route to 3-under 33 through nine. The former Lone Peak standout added a pair of birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to move to 5-under on the day even as he and his caddy — his father Clark — admitted they left plenty of putts on the course.
"A putt finally dropped for me on 16, after I hit a decent wedge shot to 20-25 feet," Jones said. "I just stayed patient out there, and didn't make any bogeys. Five birdies if you're playing pretty good is kind of a given out here."
Jones could qualify for next week's Korn Ferry Tour stop in Omaha, Nebraska, with a top-25 finish. He's also registered for the Utah Open Aug. 16-18 at Riverside Country Club in Provo — and then he says he'll probably stow away the clubs for two years before returning for his sophomore season at BYU in the fall of 2026.
"I think I'm in a good spot," Jones said. "I think if that putter gets hot, I'm not out of it. A good finish and playing well tomorrow would be really good."
Former BYU standout and one-time volunteer assistant coach Daniel Summerhays also put himself in a good position Saturday, shooting 66 with birdies on four of the final five holes to climb into a five-way tie for 13th at 15-under.
The Davis County product who un-retired from professional golf three years ago and has already clinched Korn Ferry Tour status — at least — for next year opened with rounds of 64 and 68, but took a Friday night trip to the driving range at Valley View to work out his driver.
Apparently, it worked.
"I didn't drive it very well yesterday (Friday), and I was able to lean on some shot making and creativity to eke out a 3-under-par," said Summerhays, the 40-year-old who is currently ranked 41st on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. "I hit 25 drivers up there, and today I played great, even better than my first round when I shot 64. I was giving myself all day long, and just told myself to be patient.
"I bogeyed the 12th hole after I kept saying to myself to be patient," he added with a grin. "So I said to myself on the 13th tee, let's try to get three out of these last six. I rolled in a really important 35-footer on 14, and that made me feel right before I hit it to seven feet (on 15) for eagle, and missed that."
That set up the par-4, 440-yard 18th hole that drove into the grandstand finale at Oakridge, where over a hundred fans were awaiting the dozens of friends and family in Summerhays' gallery as he connected his approach shot from the middle of the fairway within 15 feet for a slow downhill birdie putt.
"I like making putts for myself, but there's this extra motivation to make it for all my family and friends, the members here at Oakridge," Summerhays said. "I wanted to make that putt so bad to give them the chance to yell and scream. That's a memory I'll have for a while."
Among the seven golfers with ties to the state that made the cut, former BYU standout Peter Kuest shot 4-under 67 to move to 11-under and a tie for 44th, while BYU senior Max Brenchley added a 68 to improve to 9-under and a tie for 62nd with Lone Peak's Kihei Akina, among others, for 62nd
Ogden native Connor Howe, the former Georgia Tech golfer who won two individual state titles at Weber High, is tied for 69th at 8-under, and former BYU golfer Carson Lundell shot 70 to improve to 7-under and a tie for 75th ahead of Sunday's final round.
Making just his fourth start on the Korn Ferry Tour, Karl Vilips is in contention for his first win. The 22-year-old Australian shot 64 Saturday and is tied for the lead with fourth-year pro Matt McCarty at 20-under.
Fellow Aussie Brett Drewitt is one shot back in third, with Sam Choi, Quade Cummins and Carter Jenkins tied for fourth at 18-under.
