Tony Finau Finishes First Round At Masters Near Top Of Leaderboard
Apr 7, 2022, 3:07 PM
Tony Finau of the United States 8during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 04, 2022 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Tony Finau has battled his way around Augusta National with an opening round score of 71, three shots off the pace entering tomorrow’s second round.
Finau began his morning with an opening par on the first hole before dialing in his long irons and capitalizing on the par 5 2nd hole with a superb 2nd shot. His eagle putt drifted wide but was able to tap in for his opening birdie of the day and tournament to immediately assert himself on the leaderboard.
However, disaster struck Finau on the fourth hole when his tee shot on the par 3 nearly ended up out of bounds. He was forced to chip back out onto the fairway with his second before chipping onto the green with his third and two-putting for a double.
A perfectly placed tee shot from Tony Finau. #themasters pic.twitter.com/VkBNlNn9O0
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2022
Finau was able to compose himself and rattle off three consecutive pars before his second birdie of the tournament fell on the par 5 8th after once again missing an eagle putt by inches.
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The final hole on the front nine ended in disappointment when Finau failed to capitalize on a wonderful second shot when he missed his five-foot birdie putt.
Amen Corner was approaching, arguably the most famous three-stretch of holes in all of golf and a place that Finau has struggled with in the past.
Sadly, the struggle continued for Finau who found the bottom of Rae’s Creek with his tee shot on the 12th hole. The same hole and the same shot that Finau made in the final round of the 2019 Masters tournament when he played alongside eventual champion Tiger Woods.
Finau was able to get back on the par train despite being wayward off the tee on the 13th hole but Finau proved his worth with impressive scrambling down the stretch.
Finau got back to even par on the par 5 15th. All three of his birdies occurred on par 5’s throughout the opening day.
The Utahns final three holes of day one features two pars and another birdie on No. 17.
Finau will enter day two of the tournament tied with Tiger Woods at 71.
