Kentucky golfer Laney Frye, left, helps a youngster get ready to hit a shot at the First Tee Clinic at the Barbasol Junior Championship. (Larry Vaught Photo)
It’s not hard to get Laney Frye on the golf course, especially when it is her home course and involves kids wanting to play golf. She was at the Barbasol Junior Championship Tuesday at Keene Run Course in Jessamine County with the First Tee — a group that tries to help promote life skills and character through golf in youth ages 7 to 18 in 70 elementary schools in Kentucky.
“Having the Barbasol Junior at my home course is definitely special because it is such a cool opportunity for kids to be right in the middle of some great golf going on with the best junior players in the nation and world,” said Frye, who recently completed a banner freshman season on the UK golf team. “The winner gets an exemption to the PGA Tour event (Barbasol Championship in July in Lexington), so you know how good the golfers are. I think we will see some low scores.”
She was right. Preston Summerhays, one of the nation’s best junior players, shot an 8-under par 64 that included one eagle and seven birdies to take the first-round lead Tuesday. His father, Boyd, played one year on the PGA Tour and his brother Daniel is a PGA Tour player. His uncle, Bruce Summerhays, won three times on the PGA Tour Champion.
Frye, who leaves today for a tournament in Michigan, said having a premier junior event in Kentucky should help golf across the state.
“That helps make little kids come out to the First Tee clinic and then maybe want to come back and play more golf,” she said.
Most of the young boys and golfers did not know. She was wearing a UK shirt but joked that most thought that just meant she was a UK fan.
“They just want to swing a golf club and have fun. They were just happy to be here with whoever would help them,” she said.
It was not long ago Frye was the same type of happy, go-lucky golfer who has now developed into a high school state champion and all-SEC player at UK. Soon she’ll be heading off to Maryland to play in the U.S. Girls Junior. The only downside — it is the same time as the Barbasol Championship at Keene Trace in Jessamine County.
However, Frye did receive some exciting news recently. In a previous interview about her freshman season at UK, she revealed that she names her putter in hopes of making a connection that will help her putting. Her current putter is named “Ricky” after PGA Tour star Ricky Fowler.
“Somebody got the article about my putter being named for him to him and he read it. That was so cool,” she said.
