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Three Utah golfers receive sponsor exemptions into the Utah Championship

(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Patrick Fishburn tees off on 18 on his way to winning the Utah Open golf tournament played at the Riverside Country Club, Sunday, August 27, 2017. Fishburn nearly drove the green as he finished off crushed the field, winning by nine shots.

The Korn Ferry Tour’s Farmington stop next week will have a hometown aura, even with fans not yet being allowed into PGA Tour-sanctioned events.

Utah natives Patrick Fishburn, Daniel Summerhays and Preston Summerhays (Daniel’s nephew) are among five golfers receiving sponsor exemptions into the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank at Oakridge Country Club, as announced Thursday. Sandy resident Mike Weir also is in the field for the June 25-28 tournament, with Golf Channel producing live coverage each day (4-6 p.m. MDT).

The other exemptions went to former UCLA golfer Jonathan Garrick and Bobby Bai of China.

“Getting an exemption into the field for the Utah Championship is a huge opportunity for young golfers,” said Jeff Robbins, CEO of the tournament host Utah Sports Commission.

Fishburn, from Fremont High School and BYU, has Korn Ferry Tour conditional status after finishing fifth in the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Order of Merit in 2019. Fishburn probably was in next week’s field already, thanks to a recent reordering of his category. The exemption assures him a spot at Oakridge, where he tied for 24th place in 2018 as a first-year pro.

Daniel Summerhays, a PGA Tour veteran, finished sixth in the Utah Championship last summer, but lost most of his access to Korn Ferry Tour events via the season’s points list. He’ll be making his first start of the 2020 schedule, which resumed last week in Florida.

Preston Summerhays, who will turn 18 in July, is the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur winner and two-time Utah State Amateur defending champion. He played at Oakridge last year via a sponsor exemption and shot 73-71, missing the 36-hole cut by two strokes.

Weir, who turned 50 in May, is tuning up for the restart of the PGA Tour Champions season. His senior debut will come in late July in Michigan.