Daniel Summerhays survives cut, 6 other locals not so lucky at 35th Utah Championship

OGDEN — Seven Utah golfers were whittled down to one before the weekend at the 36-hole mark of the Utah Championship.

Former BYU golfer Daniel Summerhays shot 7-under-par 63 to slide into a tie for 25th at 9-under Friday at Ogden Golf and Country Club.

Summerhays opened his first hole with a birdie on the par-4, 483-yard 10th hole and scarcely let up. The Davis High grad who grew up in Farmington scattered eight birdies with just one bogey, ripping off four in a row to conclude his first nine holes at 5-under 35.

The former BYU golfer jumped to 7-under with back-to-back birdies on a pair of par-4s at Nos. 4 and 5. Then after a bogey on the par-3 sixth, Summerhays pulled one back on the par-4 seventh to polish off his 63.

That was tied for the third-best round of the day, behind Chris Francoeur's eye-popping 11-under 59 that set a course record and vaulted the Massachussetts. Native seven spots up the leaderboard.

The former college golfer at Rhode Island and Louisville will take a three-shot lead at 17-under over Mason Andersen and Kevin Dougherty into the weekend.

Summerhays' nephew Preston totaled an up-and-down second round and nearly made the cut himself.

The second-year pro who grew up in Farmington before his family moved to Scottsdale prior to his time at Arizona State capped a frustrating first nine with double bogey on the par-4 18th hole that moved him to 2-over 37.

But the former Utah teenager who won back-to-back men's amateur championships in 2018 and 2019 shot 5-under through his first four holes, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5, 520-yard third hole.

After back-to-back bogeys, the younger Summerhays finished his round at 1-under 69 and a two-day total of 4-under 135 — one shot off the cut.

Former BYU golfer Carson Lundell was nearly as close.

Lundell's wild week began on the other wise of the Rockies, when the Lone Peak High alum carded a four-day total of 20-under 264 to win the Inspirato Colorado Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club in Denver.

The former three-time 5A state champion recorded his best round at the event — and a $50,000 pay check to help pay the bills of grinding in professional golf's equivalent of the minor leagues — with back-to-back 66s to hold off former Colorado State golfer AJ Ott in his hometown.

Prior to Sunday's win, Lundell finished with a pair of sixth-place finishes and third since 2023.

But that was only the start to his journey.

After collecting the check in the Centennial State, Lundell rushed to the airport to make it home for a Monday qualifier for the weekend's Korn Ferry Tour stop in his home state.

With confidence in every stroke and a fresh dose of sleep while his mother drove him to the qualifier at Glen Eagle Golf Club, Lundell shot 9-under 63 to clinch a qualifying spot.

But he couldn't keep up the momentum.

After shooting 65 in Thursday's opening round, Lundell was 2-over through 10 holes. His birdie on the par-4, 369-yard 13th hole pulled him back to 1-over on the day and 4-under overall — just two shots off the cut line before back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 pushed him outside of the ropes.

Former BYU golfer and past Zac Jones clinched another of the Monday qualifier spots, along with Weber State alum Barry Schenk.

Jones, the former Utah state men's amateur champion who prepped at Lone Peak, shot 3-under 67 Friday to rebound from an opening round 72 before missing the cut at 1-under.

Schenk, who now lives in Washington County where he co-founded his company Golf Logics, shot 78-73 to finish 11-over.

Former University of Utah golfer and Park City High alumnus Mitchell Schow, an Ogden native who won the 2020 Utah state men's amateur, carded 2-over 72 to finish with a two-day total of 1-under 139.

Former Weber High standout Connor Howe got off to a slow start, teeing off on No. 10 and playing the first five holes at 4-over punctuated by a double bogey on the par-4, 364-yard 14th hole.

The Georgia Tech alum rebounded with four birdies. But back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 8 and 9 slid him to a 3-over 73 finish, and 2-under in 36 holes.

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