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Among the reasons teaching pro Joe Summerhays completed the requirements for membership in the PGA of America was the opportunity to follow his father's path by playing in a PGA Championship.
It took him until age 44, but Summerhays will tee it up in a major tournament Thursday as one of five Utah natives in the 156-player field at Baltusrol Golf Club.
He joins his cousin, Daniel Summerhays, teaching pro Tommy Sharp and PGA Tour members Tony Finau and Zac Blair in New Jersey. Bruce Summerhays, Joe's father, played in four PGA Championships as a club pro in California and Utah. Blair's father, Jimmy, a longtime Utah club pro, also has competed in the event.
The tournament is meaningful to all of them. Blair is eligible for his first major as a PGA Tour player, although he qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open and tied for 40th place during a break from the PGA Tour Latinoamerica schedule.
Finau has finished in the top 20 in three of his four appearances in majors, including a tie for 10th in last year's PGA Championship in Wisconsin. He tied for 18th in the recent British Open after being tied for sixth going into the final round.
Daniel Summerhays also made the cut in the British Open, after tying for eighth in the U.S. Open. He tied for 33rd in the PGA Championship in 2014 but was not in the field last year.
The tour members are trying to enhance their status in the FedEd Cup standings, with the four-event playoffs beginning Aug. 25.
The teaching pros are hoping to make the most of their first chances to play at this level. Typically, two or three of the 20 club pros in the field make the 36-hole cut, after they qualified via the PGA Professional Championship. In 2005, the last time the PGA Championship was played at Baltusrol, Steve Schneiter of Sandy was honored as the highest-finishing club pro, tied for 40th place.
Utahns in the PGA Championship
Thursday's starting times (MDT)
5:10 a.m. • Tommy Sharp, with K.J. Choi and Jon Curran.
7 a.m. • Zac Blair, with Smylie Kaufman and David Muttit.
10:15 a.m. • Joe Summerhays, with Yuta Ikeda and Colt Knost.
10:55 a.m. • Tony Finau, with Anirban Lahiri and Matthew Fitzpatrick.
12:05 p.m. • Daniel Summerhays, with Cameron Tringale and Rick Schuller.