You don’t get many opportunities to go out and play on the big stage. I’m just excited to play against the best. – Gipper Finau
FARMINGTON — One of the up-and-coming stars on the PGA Tour is Utah’s Tony Finau. The 27-year-old, who grew up in the Rose Park area of Salt Lake City, has pocketed $1.9 million this year and with a seventh-place finish last week, has moved up to No. 26 in the FedEx standings.
A decade ago, however, it looked like Tony’s younger brother, Gipper, would be the one headed for stardom on the PGA Tour. Gipper started playing golf before Tony, his senior by just 11 months, and when he was just 16 years old, he made the cut in the PGA Tour’s Nationwide event in Utah, becoming the third youngest player to do so.
Yet 11 years later, that remains the only cut that Gipper Finau has made in a PGA Tour event, while Tony is earning millions.
He played again in 2007 at Willow Creek and at the 2015 Utah Championship at Thanksgiving Point, missing the cut both times. This week he’s back at the same tournament at Oakridge Country Club, on what is now called the Web.com Tour, with a sponsor’s exemption and the opportunity to jump-start his professional career. A high finish would get him into future Web.com events, while a victory would be a career-changing event.
“You don’t get many opportunities to go out and play on the big stage,” Finau said. “I’m just excited to play against the best.”
After an outstanding junior career, Finau turned professional before he was a senior at West High School and thought he would be playing on the PGA Tour within a few years. But it didn’t happen as he (and Tony) struggled to find access to big golf tournaments and had to find places to play wherever they could. He recently decided rather than try to get into Monday qualifiers on the PGA or Web.com tours, to play in smaller events and more frequently.
“There are a lot of mini-tour events at this level and you have to keep playing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a little event where there’s 25 people or a state open where the field is full. Tony said, ‘go out there and play golf.’ Competition is competition.”
So how could Gipper make the cut at a big event as a 16-year-old, while leading the tournament in driving distance, but he hasn’t had any similar success since?
“I grew up, that’s the best way to put it,” he said. “I had so much talent, but I was one of those that needed to learn. Life taught me a lot of good lessons throughout the years.”
Finau recently had another life-changing event when his son was born a little less than two months ago and he feels that and other things have made a difference that will help him on the golf course.
“To me, I’m in the best mindset I’ve ever been in,” he said. “I’m married and had a son six weeks ago and obviously you can’t know how life-changing it is until it happens and you look at life differently. Hopefully this year I’ll be able to get over the hump and be able to go out and hang out with my brother. I’m really comfortable right now.”
Finau tees off at 9 a.m. at Oakridge on Thursday and at 2:15 p.m. on Friday.
TOURNAMENT NOTES: The purse of $700,000 is tied for second best on the Web.com Tour this year with a first-place prize of $126,000 . . . Of the top 25 money winners on the Tour, 24 will be playing this week, including the top three money winners, Stephan Jaeger, Andrew Putnam and Andrew Landry. Only No. 4 Chesson Hadley, who will be playing in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic this week is missing . . . Also, 53 of the top 60 money winners will be on hand this week . . . Besides Finau, Alpine’s Joe Parkinson is the other local player in the event. Parkinson got in by shooting a 63 in Monday’s qualifier at TalonsCove Golf Course . . . Two-time Utah Open winner Nate Lashley, who ranks 10th on the money list, is playing this week . . . Former champion Josh Teater (2009) is also in the field.