WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 8, 2022

Preston Summerhays

TPC Scottsdale

Press Conference

DOUG MILNE: Preston Summerhays, thanks for joining us for a few minutes. I know this is going to be a special week for you. I heard you outside talking about more or less what a dream it is to be here and have the opportunity.

If we could just kind of pick your brain a little bit on how special it is in your own words to be here and kind of the hopes and goals for the week.

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think one of my goals for this week was, I mean, I'm going to try to play my best. I truly think I can come out here and compete and be in contention on Sunday.

But for right now, it's just making sure I'm prepared for Thursday, that when I get out there I do have the game to be able to compete with these guys.

Then, I mean, it's a TOUR event. I'm still an amateur, but to be out here on TOUR with guys that I aspire to compete against, it's really cool and it's a dream come true.

DOUG MILNE: You had mentioned Winged Foot, and I think you also played Barbasol; is that right?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yes.

DOUG MILNE: So you've had some experience in and around these guys. Was it a nerve-racking experience, was it exciting, or kind of a combination of all of the emotions?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I would say it's always, for me, at least more exciting. I don't get super nervous, but usually the adrenaline gets me excited. Winged Foot was cool, because it was a Major, but unfortunately because of COVID there was no spectators, and Barbasol was fun (smiling).

But, I mean, to be out here, I think I consider this the biggest stage for golf. There is going to be so many fans that the energy is going to be amazing. So it's definitely going to be different than the last two events. But I'm excited to see how it will go Thursday.

DOUG MILNE: Okay. With that, we will take a few questions.

Q. Preston, could you describe your relationship with Tony Finau -- I think you call him Uncle Tony -- how much golf you have played with him? Have you ever beat him on a hole or nine holes? Does that sort of demystify the whole PGA TOUR thing a little bit for you?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, Tony has been a great mentor to me. I have known him for probably about 10 years now. We have played hundreds of rounds together. Yes, I have beat him, more than once (smiling).

But, yeah, to just play with a player like him, he's so good. To play that many rounds with him it's hard to not pick up things like he does, how he carries himself, what skill sets in his game he has. He's been a great example for me. Definitely somebody who I can look up to to aspire to be like.

Q. How old were you when you first beat him?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: When I first beat him, it was right before 2020. It was 2019, like, New Year's Eve. I remember it because I had a 7-footer to beat him. And I have come close to beating him a couple of times and just couldn't, I couldn't close him out.

But I had the 7-footer, and he was, like, Hey, P, you have to make this to say that you beat me in 2019 instead of 2020. So, yeah, that was my first time beating him.

Q. What did you shoot?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I don't even remember.

Q. You don't remember?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: No.

Q. You just remember you beat him by one, clipped him by one?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: It had to have been good.

Q. What was on the line?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, I just wanted to beat him bad, so that enough was, yeah, that was enough to play for.

Q. Then secondly, Daniel is your uncle?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yep.

Q. So that also I guess has demystified the whole PGA TOUR a little bit, as well, right?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, it's definitely helped me become a little bit more comfortable out here. Because of my dad I have been able to be out at these TOUR events, quite a few, and get to know some of the guys, have been able to play with a lot of TOUR players.

So I think that is going to make me a little more comfortable, knowing I have played with these guys before and I can compete against them. Yeah, I'd say because I play with a lot of pros, it's definitely made it a little bit easier.

Q. What's your familiarity like with this golf course? I know you go to ASU, but is this one that you guys play as a team?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Well, I actually -- I live like five minutes down the road, so I have been lucky enough to play here multiple times. Obviously this week's conditions are going to be a lot different, but definitely the visuals, the visuals I'm pretty comfortable with. But because the conditions are different, I just need to make sure I'm prepared with those.

Q. And your dad is just going to be just watching?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: My dad is going to be on the bag.

Q. He is?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, he is.

Q. Who was on the bag today?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: One of my great friends and teammates, Mason Andersen.

Q. What's it going to be like to have dad on the bag for a tournament that's in your backyard?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, it's going to be really cool. Not only because, I mean, he's my dad, he's my coach, but we work really hard together. He's been my coach for my entire life.

So we have put in so many hours together. Worked really hard to get where I am today. To share this experience, it's an individual sport and I'll get most of the credit, but, I mean, he is the biggest reason why I'm here today.

To have him on the bag and share this experience is going to be something really special.

Q. What was your earliest memory of this tournament?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I do remember, so it was my first time standard bearing, holding up the signs. I think I was with my Uncle Daniel, and we get on the 16, I must have been like maybe 12, something really young, but the crowd was cheering me on to spin the sign, because I used to do that, just give it a little spin and the crowd went crazy. I thought it was the greatest thing ever.

But that was definitely probably my youngest experience of the Waste Management.

Q. Considering your lineage, was there any choice of anything but being a professional golfer in your future?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, I definitely was born into golf. My dad was a TOUR pro, coaches now, my uncle is a TOUR pro. But my dad actually, he didn't let me play tournaments until I was 10 years old, 10 or 11, which, I mean, that's a little bit late. He wanted to make sure I played all the sports and got a taste of everything before I fully committed to golf.

I would say, I mean, yeah, I was kind of born to be a golfer (smiling).

Q. Is there anything you gleaned off of Tony and Jon today, specifically at this course going around, or did they have any words of wisdom for you going into Thursday that you can share?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I mean, I feel like my game is good to handle this course, but, I mean, with this atmosphere, I'm definitely going to be a little more amped up than I have ever been, so I just kind of asked them, Hey, how can I kind of control and just ease into my rounds?

They just said, You have to treat it like every other tournament. Even if there is a thousand people watching, it's going to be the same shot as if you were just playing at home with a friend or just playing for fun. At the end of the day, it's golf, and it's all the same.

Q. I know you're just a freshman at ASU, but not so long ago you were playing JGAA events. Now you're kind of a role model of sorts to those kids, playing a PGA TOUR event. What does that role mean to you?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I mean, it's pretty cool. Obviously, I mean, I had role models as a young player, players that went on to play college. I think now that I have that opportunity, I think it's really cool and I can be a good example to the future of Arizona Junior Golf and the future of golf. I think that's really cool.

Q. You mentioned playing Barbasol, getting into a Major. Can you just talk a little bit about the difference between playing college golf and coming out not only to play against players like this but an atmosphere like this?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Sorry, could you say that question one more time?

Q. I just want you to kind of compare the differences between playing college golf, which is what you're most accustomed to, and coming out to an atmosphere like this where the players are so good and it's a raucous, crazy environment.

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of hard to compare the two. They're pretty different. But I would say with kind of the way that college golf and amateur golf is going, we're starting to get -- I mean, the players are really good. The players are really good, and we're starting to play courses that, I mean, they have held TOUR events on and Majors on, so we are starting to get a taste for kind of what that challenge is.

But, I mean, I would definitely say the biggest difference is the atmosphere. I mean, we're not going to have many fans out at our college events, so, yeah, I mean, this week on TOUR with all the crowds I think is going to be the biggest difference.