This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After finishing in the top 30 of the 2015 U.S. Open, Utah natives Daniel Summerhays and Tony Finau barely missed qualifying for the 2016 event.
Summerhays became the only golfer eliminated Tuesday morning in a six-man playoff for the last five spots in a sectional qualifying tournament at Powell, Ohio. Finau had lost in a two-man playoff Monday at Springfield, Ohio.
Because of the strength of the field at Powell, Summerhays will be high on the alternates list and can play in the U.S. Open if there are some withdrawals between now and June 16, when competition begins at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Unless he gets into the tournament, though, the field will not include any golfers with Utah ties.
Summerhays, a Fruit Heights resident, missed a 5-foot par putt on the second playoff hole, after all six players parred the first hole. He had shot 67-70 to earn the playoff opportunity.
Finau, of Lehi, birdied his last hole in regulation Monday, posting 69-70 in Springfield, tying for the fourth spot in a field of 59 players. But a poor drive on the first playoff hole led to a bogey and Charlie Danielson advanced with a par.
Finau tied for 14th in last June's U.S. Open at Chambers Bay in Washington and Summerhays tied for 27th. In 2014, Utah native Zac Blair tied for 40th.
Blair, who missed the cut by two strokes in the Springfield qualifier, is entered in this week's FedEx St. Judge Classic in Memphis. The other Utahns on the PGA Tour will have at least two weeks off. All three have clinched their tour cards for the 2016-17 season, which begins in October. In the FedEx Cup standings, Finau is 35th, Summerhays is 67th and Blair is 76th.