Tournament Chairman Dr. Michael Golding announced today Scottsdale native and current Arizona State Sun Devil standout golfer Preston Summerhays will receive the first of five available sponsor exemptions for the 2022 WM Phoenix Open, which is scheduled to be played February 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale. Summerhays will compete in “The People’s Open” as an amateur much like fellow Sun Devil Jon Rahm in 2015, where he finished T-5.

“Preston is one of the top amateur golfers and an extremely accomplished player, especially for his young age,” Golding said. “He has put together a remarkable junior and amateur career and has taken on some of golf’s biggest stages, including the U.S. Open. We are excited to see what he can do at ‘The People’s Open’ in 2022.’”

Currently a freshman at Arizona State, Summerhays has put together a stellar amateur career, competing in the 2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Barbasol Championship, and was the winner of the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. He also was the youngest-ever winner of the Sunnehanna Amateur (2020), one of the world’s most prestigious amateur golf tournaments, was a member of the 2019 U.S. Junior Presidents Cup team, was a back-to-back Utah Amateur champion in 2018 and 2019, and was a First-Team Rolex Junior All-American. This will be Summerhays’ first PGA TOUR event playing on a sponsor exemption.

“I first started standard bearing at the Waste Management Phoenix Open when I was 10 years old, so this event is like a major championship to me,” Summerhays said.  “To be able to compete against the very best players in the world, in this amazing atmosphere, in my own backyard, is a dream come true.”

The Thunderbirds have a total of five exemptions to award for the 2022 WM Phoenix Open. The remaining four exemptions will be announced leading up to the tournament.

A field of 132 players will vie for the $8.2 million purse, the $1,476,000 first-place check, and 500 FedExCup points.  PGA TOUR members have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4, to commit to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Eligible players are assigned one of 34 PGA TOUR priority ranking categories based on their past performance on TOUR. The field will continue to change as players with higher priority rankings commit to play in the Open.

The 2022 WM Phoenix Open will take place Feb. 7-13 at TPC Scottsdale. “The People’s Open” has been named the Tournament of the Year by the PGA TOUR four times in the past seven years (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) to acknowledge the tournament’s legendary status as one the most unique events in golf. The 2022 edition will mark the 87th playing of the event (one of the five oldest events on the PGA TOUR) and the 13^th with Waste Management as title sponsor.

The Thunderbirds were founded in 1937 with the mission of promoting the Valley of the Sun through sports. The Thunderbirds consist of 55 “active” members and more than 280 “life” members who have helped the tournament eclipse $165 million in charitable giving since its inception in 1932 (through the 2021 tournament).  For more information on The Thunderbirds, visit thunderbirdscharities.org.