Utah Men’s State Am: Summerhays earns personal high; Liechty defeats Thomas
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- Jack Summerhays watches his chip at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- David Liechty watches his putt at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- Jacob Marx shoots out of the bunker at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- Brendan Thomas sizes up his putt at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- Jack Summerhays (left) and his caddie, John Adams (right), walk toward the green at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- Brendan Thomas watches his putt at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
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- Ryan Liechty (left) and David Liechty (right) look on at the Utah Men’s State Amateur on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at Logan Country Club in Logan.
LOGAN — Kaysville native Jack Summerhays, making his sophomore appearance at the Utah State Men’s Amateur Championship as the No. 11 seed this week, set a new personal benchmark with three consecutive match-play wins against No. 54 Ryan Barber (2 and 1), No. 43 J.J. Tomsick (1-up), and No. 38 Lucas Schone (3 and 1) to reach the quarterfinals in a faceoff against No. 3 seed David Liechty on Friday.
Liechty, a former Layton High standout, and No. 51 Brendan Thomas, a Weber State alum, squared off for the other half of Friday’s quarterfinal seat. The former Lancer prevailed by four strokes.
It’ll be a unique matchup, considering Liechty hasn’t competed against Summerhays since he was a senior and Summerhays was just a freshman.
Asked about the matchup, Liechty said Summerhays has more than earned his place among the herd.
“I played high school golf against him when I was a senior. … I think Jack’s a great fit for this course,” Liechty said. “I haven’t seen his game for a bit since I’ve gotten out of high school. He might not always be the longest, but he’s very consistent. I think he’s a good player and it’ll be a good fit for (Friday).”
In the Round of 32, Tomsick bridged two birdies to lead Summerhays 1-up through the front 9, and led 2-up with another birdie on the 12th hole. Summerhays birdied three of his next four holes, including two par-4 opportunities, to even the card and set up a decisive birdie on the 16th hole.
Summerhays shared his perspective on Logan’s course compared to Ogden in 2024.
“Ogden’s a lot longer, especially since it’s a par-70. There’s a couple par-4s that’re deep but (Logan)’s really fun for match play because you’re hitting three woods on greens.”
Focused on speed, Summerhays spent much of the spring with a personal trainer to increase his distance. In his first trip to Logan, the rising senior said the course is contoured to his learning curve when it comes to alignment and speed.
“I’ve been working out a lot and trying to hit it farther,” Summerhays said. “It’s been working a little bit, I think. I feel like I already hit it pretty straight and just not as far, so it’s like a perfect course for me to go deep in.”
Three incoming high school seniors — Summerhays, Tyse Boman (Corner Canyon), and Austin Shelley (Skyline) — were part of match play. Boman fell to No. 1 Noah Schone in the round of 32 and Shelley met the same fate, falling to older brother and BYU commit Jackson Shelley.
Summerhays followed up his initial State Amateur debut with an individual Region 1 championship and top-20 finish at the 6A state championship at Riverbend in October. He’ll return to Farmington for a highly-anticipated senior season this spring.
Friday’s quarterfinal matches begin at 9:30 a.m. in Logan.
Liechty, Thomas head-to-head for quarterfinal bid
Liechty and cleared No. 30 Noah Moody (3 and 1) and then Thomas (5 and 3) to clear Thursday’s two rounds and reach the Friday quarterfinals, when Liechty and Summerhays will contest a head-to-head match.
In the day’s first match, Liechty took a one-stroke lead into the back nine but handed that lead to Moody in just two holes. The former Lancer bounced back with three consecutive birdies, ending the match on the 17th hole with his seventh birdie of the day.
In his second round, Liechty established a four-stroke lead through the sixth hole and outpaced Thomas for his third match-play victory of the week.
“I know (Thomas) is a freaking stick — that was my first thought,” Liechty said of being paired with the Wildcat alum. “I thought this was a good setup for Brendan and I knew I had to bring my best stuff today and I played pretty good. I struck the ball pretty well. There were a couple of missed shots out there that I’d like to dial in a little more but, overall, I’m very happy with today.”
In his morning match, Thomas trailed No. 46 Maddox Vincent by a stroke through the fourth hole and trailed by three holes through the front nine. Tying Vincent on the fifth hole, Thomas stacked three birdies on holes 6-9 and picked up another on the 13th hole to advance 3 and 2.
Going 16 holes with Liechty, Thomas couldn’t find his first birdie until the 11th hole and found himself clawing at his opponent throughout the back nine. Thomas reached the semifinals last year in Ogden and had his sights set another deep run this summer.
“I knew it would be a good one for match play,” Thomas said. “I felt like, in the first round this morning, I’d been hitting the ball really solid and then I just was a little loose with the tee shots and a couple of approach shots, so it just didn’t quite hit as good as David was.”
Liechty or Thomas have reached medal rounds in consecutive State Amateurs.
Horner, Marx drop out in round of 32
State Amateur veteran Dan Horner and Brigham City native Jacob Marx each met their tournament exits with tight finishes in the Round of 32.
No. 4 Martin Leon defeated No. 36 Horner (2-up) and No. 13 John Fox defeated No. 20 Marx (1-up), with a combined 36 holes played between both parties.
Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
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Utah Men’s State Am: Summerhays earns personal high; Liechty defeats Thomas
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