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By Kent Larsen
Two LDS Golfers Seeking US Amateur Championship, Records
ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Two LDS golfers are among the eight that made the
quarterfinal round of the US Amateur Championship yesterday, and both are
seeking to set records by winning the championship. Utah golfer Danny
Summerhays is just three wins away from passing Tiger Woods as the youngest
US Amateur Champion, while Oregon's Jeff Quinney would become only the
fourth man to repeat as champion in the last 50 years, and the first since
Tiger Woods' three-peat in 1994-1996.
Summerhays, 17, plays this weekend before starting his senior year of high
school on Monday in Farmington, Utah. He is no slouch academically either,
maintaining a 4.0 GPA and the No. 1 ranking among the 754 students in his
class. He says managing that isn't easy, "It's tough, but you have to set
your priorities and school is first," he said. "You can find time (to play
golf). There's always time for that."
But unlike so many promising high school golfers these days, he has no plans
to turn pro immediately. Instead, Danny will attend BYU for two years and
then serve an LDS mission before considering a shot at the PGA tour. "I
wouldn't want to do that (turn pro so young) because I love high school and
my friends. I don't want to miss that. I think the mentality and the
emotional maturity you gain on a mission will really help you in the long run."
As the reigning US Amateur Champion, Quinney has had some great
opportunities, including the chance to play in the Master's tournament in
April. He also got to play in the US Open in June and the British Open in
July, in both cases paired with defending champions. He also has exceptions
that allow him to play in seven PGA Tour events, which he plans to use when
he turns Pro this fall to jump start his career.
Quinney, 22, graduated earlier this year from Arizona State University. He
is the youngest of four sons of Bob and Leslie Quinney of Eugene, Oregon. He
has played well for ASU, becoming a second team All-American in 1999 and
NCAA West Regional Champion that same year. He also set a ASU record by
shooting a 62 on the University's Karsten Golf Course April 18, 1999.
Yesterday, Summerhays won two matches, including a re-match in the afternoon
against recent BYU graduate Billy Harvey, who Summerhays defeated in 1999 to
win the Utah State Amateur. He also defeated Texas Tech junior Brooks Kelly
that morning and a college coach earlier in the week.
Despite the chance to set a record, Summerhays says that the pressure isn't
getting to him, "I know I'm the underdog when I go out there. There's no
pressure on me." But, he admits, he didn't expect to get this far, "It's
definitely beyond my expectations. I was just hoping to get into match play
and give that a shot." But many in Utah are expecting great things from him,
both because of his early success, and because of his family name. His older
brother Boyd has also been an amateur contender in Utah, his cousin Carrie
plays on BYU's women's golf team, and his uncle, Bruce, is on the PGA Senior
Tour.
Quinney, meanwhile, beat 2000 Amateur Public Links champion D. J. Trahan in
the morning yesterday and then went on to defeat Kris Mikkelsen in the
afternoon for his shot at the title. He says he hadn't given the chance to
repeat as champion much thought, "Now that I'm into the quarters, it's
probably the first time I'm actually thinking about" winning the title,
Quinney said. "Before that, you know it's a long shot."
Sources:
Quinney advances to U.S. Amateur quarterfinals
GolfWeb 23Aug01 S2
Associated Press
17-year-old still alive at U.S. Amateur
GOLF Online (AP) 23Aug01 S2
By Paul Newberry: Associated Press
U.S. Amateur: Golf drama in truest sense
Atlanta GA Journal-Constitution 24Aug01 S2
By Furman Bisher: Staff
Summerhays Advances to Am Quarters
Salt Lake Tribune 24Aug01 S2
Summerhays, Hailes Make Match Play
Salt Lake Tribune 22Aug01 S2
Summerhays' Surge Into Lead in the Stars
Salt Lake Tribune 19Aug01 S2
By Kurt Kragthorpe: Salt Lake Tribune
See also:
A Potential Star's First Masters
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