BYU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
BYU's Daniel Summerhays was named a PING First-Team All-American by the Golf Coach Association of America on Sunday, becoming the first Cougar golfer to earn such an honor since 1986.
Summerhays capped off an impressive junior season with an outstanding fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship tournament last week, earning a spot among the top 10 college golfers in the nation. Summerhays finished the season ranked No. 7 individually in the nation after carrying the nation's second-best scoring average at 69.95.
Summerhays finished seventh or better in 10 out of BYU's 14 events on the season, including one victory. Also, seven out of the last 13 rounds he has played he has scored in the 60s. He helped lead his team to four tournament victories, including BYU's first Mountain West Conference Golf Championship since 2001. He collected his first individual tournament victory at the 2007 PING Cougar Classic and was BYU's top national individual finisher in over two decades. Summerhays is BYU's first golfer since Brent Franklin in 1986 to earn a First-Team All-American citation.
'He definitely deserves the honor,' BYU coach Bruce Brockbank said. 'He's been phenomenal all year long, and especially this last week. He's one of the top 10 best college golfers without question.'
In a previous announcement, Jake Ellison, Summerhays, Clay Ogden, Nick Becker and Robbie Fillmore were all named to the GCAA Division I PING All-Region Team, while BYU men's golf head coach Bruce Brockbank was named the Southwest Region Coach of the Year.
This is Brockbank's fourth region coach of the year honor. In May, he also earned his fourth Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year honor as he coached the Cougars to their second MWC Championship victory.
The All-Region nomination is the second for All-Americans Ellison and Summerhays, as well as for Ogden. It is the first for 2005 MWC individual champion Becker, and true freshman Robbie Fillmore.
Aside from Tulsa and Oklahoma State from the Central region, BYU is the only other team that had all five starters selected into the All-Region Team.