BANK OF UTAH CHAMPIONSHIP

October 22, 2025

Preston Summerhays

Black Desert Resort

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, we'll get started. We would like to welcome Preston Summerhays to the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship. Preston, you're playing on a sponsor's exemption this week. It's been a crazy past few months since moving on from Arizona State. How excited are you to be here and get this opportunity to play?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I'm pumped; very thankful for the opportunity. You know, I've been lucky enough to have gotten a lot of cool TOUR starts and to even play the Korn Ferry event in Farmington the last couple years.

So to be able to play in my home state in a TOUR event is really special for me.

Q. And then you finished seventh in the PGA TOUR University ranking, which got you status on the Korn Ferry Tour for '25 and '26. How grateful are you for that opportunity and what are you looking forward to when it comes to next year?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, PGA TOUR U has been great. I mean, it's really nice to play college golf and then to graduate and have a place to play straight out of college.

You know, there is a lot of guys before me that didn't have that. They would have to try to get their card based off sponsor starts and go to Q-School.

Luckily for me I was able to go straight onto the Korn Ferry, which is really nice, and it's been a great learning opportunity for me to get those starts and have somewhere to play and just learn more about myself and more about the game week to week.

Q. I was going to say, everything on the golf course this week, you said you saw it for the first time on Monday, getting some time out there. What is about this course that stands out to you? Is it similar to some of the courses you're playing back home in Scottsdale?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, this course right now is really pure. I had heard a lot about it before coming here. Seeing it for the first time on Monday I was really impressed. I think the quality of shots you need to hit off the tee into the greens and around the greens are high level.

Yeah, it's just a great course and I'm excited to play it. (Smiling.)

Q. I know the summer might have been hard on paper, but what are some of the things that you're concentrating on this week, some of the takeaways that you have been getting in your starts and experiences as you take on this next start this week?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, you know, as an Am, getting starts in TOUR events. I think because they don't come very often, it's really easy to put a lot of pressure, like feeling like you need to play well that week.

You know, since turning pro it's nice to just become familiar with playing week after week. That way when I do get this opportunity it just feels like I can just keep going through my process and treat it like any other tournament.

Q. Given that you're surrounded by some pretty talented family members also, are they also giving you some advice? Has there been anything that's stuck that you take with you?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: You know, I'm surrounded by great golfers all the time. My dad was an amazing player. He's my coach, so I get most of my -- you know, I learned so much from him.

Mainly for this week, it's just kind of focusing on my game and aspects of my game, making sure I can hit it well off the tee, approach shots, around the greens.

So basically just trying to fine tune my game with him.

Q. Have you had a chance to play this course prior to this week?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: No. No. Monday was my first time.

Q. What are your first impressions after being out there? Obviously pretty crazy landscape.

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I thought it was sweet. This course is awesome. I really like -- I play my golf in Scottsdale so it's kind of familiar with desert on both sides of the fairway. So I would say probably wasn't as big of a shock to me as some of the other players that play tree-lined golf courses, which I think is a great advantage just to be a little bit more familiar with the setup.

Q. We have heard there is some blind tee shots over there over some rocks; obviously the rough, really penal being lava rocks. What are your thoughts on the difficulties of it? See any struggles out there or things to adjust to as you play?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: It's always hard kind of not really being able to see where you're hitting it, but lucky for me my dad is caddieing for me this week and he's really on the ball with lines off the tee.

So we mainly -- that was our biggest focus during the practice rounds, making sure I have good lines on some of those blind tee balls.

Q. You talked a little bit about getting some starts on Korn Ferry Tour after turning pro. What were some of the things you learned about yourself, maybe not necessarily your game, but the life of being a professional player?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I learned that I love it a lot more than I thought. Yeah. (Smiling.)

College golf was fun. It's great to be with your teammates in a team setting. Ever since I was young I knew I want to be a professional golfer, and really up until you become a professional golfer you don't know what to expect.

In the first five months of being pro, I mean, I love every single aspect of it. I love the travel. I love the prep for tournaments. I love the practice rounds. I love hanging out with my buddies on the road.

I have enjoyed it much more than I thought.

Q. Anything surprise you that maybe you weren't expecting?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: How much free time I have. It's so great. I mean, I don't have homework. I don't have, you know, mandatory workouts. It's nice. I'm able to set my own schedule, practice when I want, able to recover how I want. You know, yeah, just really be able to take charge of my own career.

Q. And you mentioned first time seeing this course this week. I guess what are you trying to do this week? Is it results-driven? It is more just your own game? What are you looking to do this week?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: I think every single week is results driven. I think every single player is coming here for the same goal: trying to win.

Kind of like I said before, when you're playing amateur golf and you get these exemptions here and there you build it up to be more than it is and you really try to take advantage of that opportunity. That adds a little bit more pressure than it needs to be.

So I would say as I've just kept on playing in professional golf, it's been a lot more focusing on my process and making sure my game is in a good spot to get the results rather than the results themselves.

Q. You mentioned that your dad is on the bag for the tournament. Do you have other family or friends to watch you play in the tournament?

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Yeah, my family is coming in town today, brother, sister, mom. I think my grandparents are coming up. I'll find out who shows up on the first tee tomorrow.

But those I know for sure are coming.

Q. Good luck.

PRESTON SUMMERHAYS: Thank you.