The Summit Club has chance to shine during CJ Cup

When the PGA Tour announced its 2021-2022 schedule last week, it wasn’t shocking that the relocated CJ Cup once again landed in Las Vegas. What was a surprise was the venue: The Summit Club.

The PGA Tour is trusting one of its high-profile tournaments to a relatively new course that has never hosted anything close to an event of this nature, let alone one that has only two months to prepare for it. But officials at The Summit Club aren’t worried.

“Like the PGA (Tour), we understand the urgency in making things happen as quickly as possible so we can deliver a top-quality event for the players and the fans,” said Michael Abbott, general manager and vice-president of operations at The Summit Club. “It’s a short runway, but it’s not impossible thanks to the wealth of experience we have among our team and the PGA.”

The tournament will be held October 11-17 and feature a limited field of 78 players in a no-cut format. It will be played the week following the annual Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin.

Normally staged in South Korea, the CJ Cup is being played in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We had to make a difficult decision for the health and safety of the players and fans,” said Wookho Keyong, vice president of CJ Cheiljedang Corp., title sponsors of the event. “Considering the circumstances, we believed it was a logical decision to host the event in the United States.”

When it came time to pick a venue, The Summit Club jumped at the chance.

“When the opportunity arose to host this event, our chairman and founder, Michael S. Meldman, was excited to reciprocate the attention and generosity that the Tour and players have shown our properties over the years,” Abbott said.

The PGA Tour will run the tournament and rely heavily on Abbott and his team.

“As a venue, our team understands the importance of being the on-the-ground experts to answer questions for the PGA team and anticipate their needs,” Abbott said. “We’ll be working hand in hand with the PGA Tour before, during and after the event.”

Officials at the Shriners Children’s Open are thrilled at the arrangement.

“With two weeks of back-to-back PGA Tour golf featuring the biggest names in the game, it will also showcase some of the finest championship courses in the world,” said Patrick Lindsey, executive director of the Shriners event. “This is just another example of how Las Vegas is becoming a hub for major sporting events.”

Montgomery on track

Taylor Montgomery played his final four holes in 4-under Sunday to finish in a tie for second at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship. The result moved the Las Vegas resident just inside the mark needed to secure his PGA Tour card for next season.

Montgomery stands 24th on the season points list with one regular-season event remaining. The top 25 players after this week’s Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, Nebraska, earn their PGA Tour cards.

Should Montgomery fail to hang on to a top-25 spot, he’ll still have a chance at getting his PGA Tour privileges. The top 75 players qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals — along with 75 players from the PGA Tour in danger of losing their status — with another 25 playing cards available.

State Match Play

Hazen Newman, a 2019 Arbor View High School graduate and current player at Oklahoma State, won the Nevada State Match Play Championship at South Shore Country Club.

Newman dominated Andrew Hawk 8 and 7 in the championship match, giving him the title in the 32-player field.

In the semifinals, Newman beat Joseph Fortunate 4 and 2, while Hawk needed 20 holes to oust William White.

Big Win for Hack

Jhared Hack, who broke the course record at Las Vegas Golf Club in late July with a 57, continued his hot play last week by winning the prestigious Arizona Open in Gold Canyon.

Hack shot a final round 63 at Superstition Mountain to finish at 15-under 195 for a three-shot victory. He earned $23,000 for the victory.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com .