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FARMINGTON — Now in its 34th season under a handful of names, the Utah's Korn Ferry Tour stop currently held at Oakridge Country Club likes to refer to itself as the "stars of tomorrow" playing on the course today.
Several of this year's "stars" will be homegrown.
The $1 million Utah Championship that tees off Thursday has extended four sponsors exemptions to the tournament, including three who grew up in the Beehive State.
Additionally, eight more players — including four Utahns — advanced to the field via qualifying round Monday at Bonneville Golf Club, joining a field that includes former BYU golf standouts Peter Kuest and Daniel Summerhays due to their status on the Korn Ferry Tour. Fellow BYU alum Patrick Fishburn was initially slated to compete near his hometown of Ogden, but he withdrew after a sixth-place finish at last week's 3M Open bumped him up to 101st in the FedEx Cup standings with his third top-10 finish of the PGA Tour season.
Summerhays will tee off Thursday at 7:05 a.m. MDT, and Kuest at 7:15 a.m. MDT.
Australian golfer Karl Vilips, who played collegiately at Stanford, also earned a tournament exemption. Four non-Utah golfers earned a spot via Monday qualifying in former Saint Mary's golfer Blake Hathcoat, Fresno State's Kevin Huff, USC's Anthony Paolucci and Washington's Noah Woolsey.
Here's a look at the local golfers that will look to make the cut Friday and advance to Sunday's final round. NBC's Golf Channel will broadcast the tournament beginning at 2 p.m. MDT Thursday.
Kihei Akina, Alpine
A BYU commit, where he will follow his brother Keanu, Akina is one of the biggest names in high school golf both locally and nationally. The 18-year-old from Lone Peak High is coming off back-to-back individual titles at the Utah 6A state tournament as a freshman and sophomore, and earned national boys high school golfer of the year honors by USA Today Sports in 2023.
In addition to the Korn Ferry Tour stop, Akina won the prestigious Nike Junior Invitational in Oregon in June and is currently top 10 nationally in the Golfweek boys junior rankings.
Thursday tee time: 2 p.m. MDT
Connor Howe, Ogden
Howe, 24, makes an appearance near his hometown after playing five years at Georgia Tech. The Weber High graduate who won medalist honors at the 2016 and 2017 state championships and shot a state-record 62 at the 2015 state meet turned pro in 2023.
He's posted two top 10s and two top 25s on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Canada, finishing No. 20 in the Fortinet Cup points list a year ago to earn status in the inaugural PGA Tour Americas in 2024.
Thursday tee time: 1:40 p.m. MDT
Preston Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz.
The two-time Utah state amateur champion hasn't stopped since committing to former BYU golfer Matt Thurmond at Arizona State, earning Ping first-team All-America honors in 2023-24 and helping the Sun Devils win the 224 Pac-12 title before a summer that includes his fourth career start on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The 2019 U.S. junior amateur champion will start his senior season as the No. 1-ranked player by PGA Tour University, which offers a guaranteed place to play professionally for top-rated golfers immediately upon the conclusion of their collegiate career.
Thursday tee time: 2 p.m. MDT
Cooper Jones, Highland
The reigning Utah state amateur runner-up carded five birdies and two eagles at Bonneville en route to the top spot on the Monday qualifier leaderboard at 9-under-par 63.
Jones, who will depart for a two-year church mission in Peru in September, finished his freshman season at BYU with five top-30 finishes, including a win in the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational that earned him his Korn Ferry Tour debut at the Compliance Solutions Championship in Norman, Oklahoma.
The four-time state champion at Lone Peak used that experience to finish in the top 25 and qualify for the tour's next stop in Springfield, Illinois, before returning home to the state amateur.
Thursday tee time: 8:45 a.m. MDT
Cole Ponich, Farmington
Ponich, 23, held off Jones 2 and 1 in the final of the Utah state amateur at Ogden Golf and Country Club, capping a remarkable return to form from a back injury that caused him to redshirt his senior season at BYU.
The former Davis High star grew up steps away from the course at Oakridge and was one of the top junior golfers in the country before committing to the Cougars, winning Utah Junior Golf Association player of the year honors and Rolex Junior All-American status in 2017 and 2018.
Thursday tee time: 8:45 a.m. MDT
Max Brenchley, Alpine
Another Lone Peak and BYU alum, Brenchley tied Ponich for third place in Monday's qualifier, carding six birdies and an eagle en route to 6-under 66. The senior finished with a pair of top-10 finishes during the Cougars' inaugural Big 12 campaign in 2023-24, a year after his collegiate career-best finish of T3 at the West Coast Conference championships in 2023.
Thursday tee time: 2 p.m. MDT
Carson Lundell, Alpine
In his first year on the PGA Tour Americas, Lundell is coming off a T8 finish at the Bromont Open that earned him a $6,300 paycheck. The 26-year-old Lone Peak and BYU alum shot 5-under 67 at Bonneville to finish sixth among Monday's qualifiers to earn his second Utah Championship berth.
Thursday tee time: 2 p.m. MDT
A long lineage of golf in the Summerhays' blood ⛳️
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 31, 2024
2025 @PGATOURU Preseason No.1 Preston Summerhays and his uncle, Daniel Summerhays are competing against each other in their home tournament @UTChampionship this week. pic.twitter.com/7ODJPsM35b
