Midway • Soaring afternoon temperatures, a pesky wind and a suddenly hot opponent twice his age threatened to rattle 16-year-old Preston Summerhays on Thursday afternoon in the 121st Utah State Amateur golf tournament at Soldier Hollow Golf Course.
Summerhays calmly rolled in a breaking 12-footer to save par on the Gold Course’s 18th hole in a Round of 16 match, then escaped when 32-year-old Layton CPA Reed Nielsen — who had made a spirited comeback — missed a 5-footer for par that would have prolonged the match.
Just like that, the tables were turned, and Summerhays was advancing to Friday’s quarterfinals, where he will face Southern Utah golfer Jake Vincent, the reigning Big Sky Conference individual champion.