Paul Peterson, Daniel Summerhays tie for early lead at Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Less than two weeks ago, Daniel Summerhays was in Paris. Now the veteran pro is fighting for a return to the PGA TOUR.

Summerhays, 40, opened in 6-under 64 at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, the second leg of the four-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals. It marked a share of the first-round lead at Vanderbilt Legends Club’s North Course, alongside Paul Peterson, as Summerhays seeks a return to the PGA TOUR.

Summerhays spent time as a high school teacher in recent years before earning back Korn Ferry Tour guaranteed starts at the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament, as he admits the game’s inherent conundrum keeps him hooked. He has produced a steady Korn Ferry Tour season to date in 2024, and he began the Simmons Bank Open at No. 41 on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List. The top 30 after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will earn 2025 PGA TOUR membership.

Summerhays didn’t compete in the two weeks preceding the Simmons Bank Open, but his schedule might have been just as busy. The father of four watched his son Jack compete at the Utah Four-Ball, finishing runner-up with partner Austin Shelley, and then took his wife Emily on a surprise trip to Paris for her 40th birthday. While watching the Paris Olympics earlier this summer, she remarked how she would like to visit Paris – her husband had booked the trip a few weeks before, but he kept his lips sealed, which was admittedly not his strongest suit. They spent four days in France, soaking in the sights and European history, before flying home on Labor Day Monday.

“So we're watching the Olympics. She's so hyped about it; she watched all the opening ceremonies," Summerhays explained Thursday with a smile. "‘We've got to someday,’ and I had already bought the tickets like six weeks earlier. ‘We should go.’ I'm like, ‘When are we ever going to fit that in, to go to Paris?’

“So I was kind of able to keep it a secret. We went, we had an amazing time. Took a deep dive into the European history. We loved all the architecture, the history. Grateful for our country, too, and where I live now. So it was a great couple weeks off.”

Summerhays worked hard early week in Tennessee, including a two-hour putting session before Wednesday’s pro-am, and the result was a nearly flawless opening-round 64 that included three consecutive birdies (Nos. 7-9) to conclude his Thursday afternoon.

With a victory, Summerhays would secure a return to the PGA TOUR, where he has made 215 career starts. He last held TOUR membership in 2018, before his teaching journey. He’s excited about the prospect of testing his renewed approach to golf at the game’s highest level, and three more strong rounds outside Nashville could get him there.

“I'd say my biggest motivation is honestly kind of self-achievement, being able to test myself and push myself,” Summerhays said. “I've had a couple different arcs in my career, a couple different paths, but nothing I found makes me more curious about myself, how I click physically, how I click mentally, how I work emotionally than professional golf. That's kind of been the driving factor.”

Peterson, 36, made seven birdies against one bogey to take a share of the lead alongside Summerhays. The Oregon native entered the week at No. 51 on the Points List, solidly positioned to maintain exempt status for 2025 (via the top 75 after next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship) and with a chance to earn his first TOUR card via the top 30.

Like Summerhays, Peterson spent the two-week break in adventurous fashion. The adopted resident of St. Simons Island, Georgia took his 2-year-old son on a trip to Oregon and then made a visit to Maryland for some work with longtime swing coach Pat McGuire. The process paid off Thursday, and he looks for continued strong results across the next few days.

“You know what you've got to do,” said Peterson of chasing his first TOUR card. “For me, I need to have the best event of the year and I'm pretty aware of that. I'm just going to put my best foot forward and do everything I can to accomplish it.”

Things to know

• Paul Peterson (No. 51 on the Points List) and Daniel Summerhays (No. 41) share the 18-hole lead.
• Marks the first lead or co-lead after any round this season for Peterson and Summerhays.
• Four players sit at 5-under, one shot behind the co-leaders, including Morgan Hoffman (No. 136).
• Upon conclusion of this week’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, the top 120 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will be eligible to compete in next week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the third of four season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
• Following the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, the top 30 players on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List will secure 2025 PGA TOUR membership.

Additional first-round notes

• Paul Peterson (T1/-6) earns his first lead/co-lead after any round this season and the second of his career (18-hole co-leader at 2020 The Ascendant presented by Blue, finished T50).
• Peterson, who ranks 51st on the points list, is making his second career appearance at the Simmons Bank Open in as many years (finished T16 in 2023).
• Daniel Summerhays (T1 / -6), No. 41 on the points list, finished his first round with three straight birdies on his final three holes (Nos. 7-9) to clinch his first lead/co-lead of any kind this season.
• Summerhays sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the fourth time in 19 starts this year.
• Ryan Gerard (T3/-5) carded six birdies against one bogey and is inside the top 10 on the leaderboard after the first round for the ninth time this season.
• Currently No. 13 on the points list, Gerard clinched #TOURBound status in his last start after a T7 finish at last month’s Albertson Boise Open presented by Chevron.
• Dan McCarthy (T3/-5) opened the first round with four birdies in his first five holes (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5) and finished with a 5-under 65, clinching his best position after any round this season (previous best: T9 after 18 holes at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, finished T47).
• Danny Walker (T3/-5), who sits 28th on the points list and has three consecutive top-25 finishes entering the week, logged six birdies against one bogey for a first-round 65.
• Only three players recorded bogey-free rounds Thursday: S.Y. Noh (T7 / -4), Kaito Onishi (T14 / -3) and Brandon Harkins (T14 / -3).
• Brent Grant (T42/-1), the only past champion of the Simmons Bank Open in the field, sat 3-under through 17 holes before a double bogey on the par-4 18th, finishing with a 1-under 69.