Grace Summerhays’ first round at Pebble Beach Golf Links was the stuff of dreams. After an early-morning fog delay, Grace partnered with her dad, Boyd, in a match against her two brothers, Cameron and Preston. Fittingly, the match ended in a tie.
What made the round even more special for Grace, 18, was it doubled as a practice round for the 78th U.S. Women’s Open. The historic championship, which gets underway July 6, marks the first time a women’s major will be contested at Pebble Beach, site of six previous U.S. Opens won by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Graeme McDowell and Gary Woodland.
“I almost can’t even comprehend it,” said Grace, one of 27 amateurs in the field.
Grace isn’t the first Summerhays to play in a U.S. Open this summer. Older brother Preston, 20, made his second U.S. Open appearance last month at Los Angeles Country Club. Both Preston and Grace play collegiate golf at Arizona State and have spent time practicing together at Silverleaf Golf Club in Scottsdale with former Sun Devil Jon Rahm, the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters champion.
Their father and coach, Boyd, is Tony Finau’s longtime instructor. The Summerhays’ impressive golf legacy, however, extends well beyond the immediate family.
Bruce Summerhays, Boyd’s uncle, won three times on the PGA Tour Champions, and Boyd’s younger brother, Daniel, played eight years on the PGA Tour. His cousin Carrie Roberts, now head coach at BYU, became the first Utah-born woman to qualify for the LPGA.
Boyd, a former top-ranked junior who played collegiate golf at Oklahoma State, earned his PGA Tour card in 2003 and played the AT&T Pebbe Beach Pro-Am three times. Pebble Beach is Boyd’s favorite course, and he’ll be on the bag this week for Grace. Boyd choked up when Grace advanced through the 36-qualifier in Scottsdale. She turns 19 on championship Sunday.
“Just to share these moments with my kids, not as a coach and students but just as a dad,” said Boyd, “it’s honestly more than that I could dream.”
Summerhays family poses at Pebble Beach: Boyd, Barbara, Grace, Cameron, Preston (courtesy Grace Summerhays)
Grace grew up training (from the same tees) with her older brother, Preston, and carried a competitive, ready-to-go attitude to Arizona State. Head coach Missy Farr-Kaye describes the rising junior as feisty and fun.
“It’s a really a beautiful thing to watch,” said Farr-Kaye of Grace’s approach to the game, “one of…
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