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FARMINGTON — Preston Summerhays has been to the Utah State Amateur before, but never like this.
The 15-year-old son of local golf pro Boyd Summerhays stared across the tee box of Thursday’s round of 16 matchup with a spot in Friday's quarterfinals on the line — and a familiar face looking back at him.
It was his second cousin, Tyler Savage.
No hard feelings, right, cuz?
Summerhays used a remarkable hole-out from the bunker on No. 13 to down his cousin, 6 and 4, and move to Friday’s quarterfinals at the 120th annual Utah State Amateur Championships at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington.
"This was my first time playing him and it was fun," said Summerhays, who became the youngest qualifier in event history when he made the field at 13 years old in 2016. "There wasn’t much trash talk, though; we try to keep it civil."
Summerhays took the lead by winning the par-4, 387-yard ninth hole, then made the turn and surged to a five-hole advantage with a bunker shot on No. 13.
The nephew of current PGA Tour golfer Danny Summerhays stroked his driver down the middle of the fairway on the 340-yard tee box. But his approach shot flared into a nearby bunker, about five paces from the pin.
Summerhays pulled out his five wedge, took one look at the lie, and swung for the top of a downhill lie. When the ball trickled into the cup, he breathed a sigh of relief for the "pretty big" match-play victory.
"At the start of the year, I always make a couple of goals — and winning this tournament has always been one of them. It’s just another step up," Summerhays said.
"I really want to win, and just play great golf here."
Summerhays will play Utah State golfer Andy Hess at 7:50 a.m. at Oakridge. The redshirt sophomore-to-be defeated Riley Morgan, 1 up in 19 holes.
"It was very grueling," Hess said. "I didn’t feel the best today health-wise, so I knew if I wanted to win, I would have to grind it out, which I did. It was maybe one of the harder days of golf I have had in my life, which makes advancing to the next round even sweeter."
Friday’s semifinal round will begin at approximately 12:30 p.m. at Oakridge. The 36-hole final will begin Saturday morning.
This year’s State Amateur was moved up to accommodate the Web.com Tour’s Utah Championship, which will be played July 12-15 — normally the week of the State Amateur — at Oakridge.
Round of 16 results
Blake Tomlinson d. Tyler Herzog, 4 and 3
John Owen d. Zack Neff, 4 and 3
Kyler Dunkle d. Jake Godfrey, 2 and 1
Darrin Overson d. Fidel Concepcion, 4 and 3
Andy Hess d. Riley Morgan, 19 holes
Preston Summerhays d. Tyler Savage, 3 and 1
Jayce Frampton d. Aaron Yeates, 3 and 2
Dan Horner d. Austin Jaramillo, 1 up
Friday's quarterfinals (at Oakridge CC)
Blake Tomlinson vs. John Owen, 7:30 a.m.
Kyler Dunkle vs. Darrin Overson, 7:40 a.m.
Andy Hess vs. Preston Summerhays, 7:50 a.m.
Jayce Frampton vs. Dan Horner, 8 a.m.
