Tony Finau makes the cut, barely, as wind wreaks havoc on scores in the 88th Masters
Utah’s Tony Finau had a rough day in the second round of the 88th Masters on Friday.
He wasn’t alone.
Battling one of the windiest days at a major golf championship in recent memory, Finau posted a 6-over-par 78 but still made the cut at Augusta National Golf Club.
Finau’s two-round total of 5-over 149 means the former Salt Lake City resident has made the cut in all seven Masters in which he has played.
Pretournament favorite Scottie Scheffler, along with Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau, lead the tournament at 6-under. Finau enters the weekend tied for 44th place (the low 50 golfers, plus ties, made the cut, which came at +6) and has some work to do to get back into contention.
Finau’s best finish at the Masters was a tie for fifth in 2019; His worst finish was a tie for 38th in 2020, the year the tournament was played in November due to the pandemic.
Former BYU golfer Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, shot a 5-over 77 on Friday to finish at 7-over 151 and did not make the cut. Weir birdied the par-3 fourth hole, making a 12-footer, and gave a determined fist pump after the 2 got him to 1-over for the tournament, but the Sandy resident struggled in the wind, as did most of the field, and played the next 14 holes 6 over par to miss out on the chance to play the weekend.
Finau made just seven pars on a day in which par was a good score, even on the par-5s, and had two double bogeys and five bogeys to go with three birdies.
The Utahn’s birdies on the par-5s on the back nine, holes 13 and 15, are what ultimately helped him make the cut. He was cruising along at +2 for the tournament and easily inside the cut line after making a routine par on the 170-yard par-3 16th, but then disaster struck.
On the par-4 17th, Finau’s tee shot was in the fairway, but his approach went over the green. He pitched 22 feet past the hole, then missed a 22-footer for par and a 5-footer for bogey and took that double bogey and +4 score to the 18th.
On 18, he again hit the fairway, but his approach was left of the green and his pitch shot rolled 7 feet past the hole. He missed the comebacker and settled for another bogey.
After hitting 14 greens in Round 1, he hit just nine in Round 2. He did hit more fairways in Round 2, despite the windy conditions, finding the short grass 10 times after finding it only eight times on Thursday.
