Danny Summerhays paced back and forth across the 18th green. It was the final round of the Ping/Golfweek Preview Tournament. Facing a long putt for birdie, Summerhays was uneasy. He called his coach, Todd Miller, over and asked for some advice. Miller told him he had been locked in all day and he was not going to tell him a thing.

Summerhays certainly had been "locked in" the entire day. He barely missed that final putt, but still finished the round with an even 60, a new course record.

The record-breaking performance is just one in a string of stellar performances by the junior golfer.

"He [Summerhays] is very good at getting it done no matter what he's feeling like or what the conditions are," Miller said.

A high level of performance is nothing new for Summerhays; he has been golfing at an extremely high level most of his life.

He grew up loving the game of golf from a very early age. He played his first tournament at the age of five.

"I remember quitting after four holes because I was tired," Summerhays said.

His desire to play the game was fueled by his older brother Boyd.

"He was my idol, hero," Summerhays said.

Boyd was ranked No. 1 in the country at one point while Summerhays was growing up.

Soon Summerhays entered the junior circuit where he had seen his brother dominate. He dreamed of achieving the same things. He won many tournaments as a junior golfer from the ages of 14-16, but his breakout performance came at age 16 when he won the Utah State Amateur Championship. He became the second youngest winner of that tournament ever. More importantly, with the win he realized he could make golf his life's pursuit.

"I saw the potential for golf to become a profession," Summerhays said.

Summerhays' golf career next brought him to BYU. After being heavily recruited by many schools, including golf powerhouse Oklahoma State, he decided to become a Cougar.

Summerhays credits BYU coach Bruce Brockbank with bringing him here, and said that Brockbank's decision to recruit him "changed his life."

After arriving at BYU, Summerhays reaffirmed his belief in the Book of Mormon. He felt a desire to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He did serve a mission, in the Chile Santiago West Mission. After returning in June 2005, he began to work on returning his game to what it once was. Two years off had left a little rust. Hard work brought him back to championship form.

"He has been improving in every part of his game," Miller said.

Summerhays said he is excited to continue his experience at BYU. He recently married the former Emily Brinton.

He hopes after graduation to play on the PGA tour. A 60-shot round is a good start.

Copyright Brigham Young University 26 Oct 2006