Tony Finau is widely recognized as one of the best golfers in the world.
This year alone the Utah native and current Lehi resident has earned just under $1.5 million, according to CBSSports, and more than $18 million in his career.
It has been an impressive career thus far for Finau, and one that got off to an interesting start.
Finau dove into his beginnings as a professional golfer during a recent appearance on Subpar, a weekly show hosted by former PGA Tour player Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.
At age 17, Finau and his brother were offered a sponsorship in “The Ultimate Game,” held in Las Vegas. There was a $50,000 buy-in for the tournament, with a first place prize of $2 million, and golfers could not have competed on the PGA Tour or the Korn Ferry Tour.
Finau was reluctant to participate at first — he didn’t think there was a way he could win — and he was leaning toward attending BYU. If he were to make it to the final day of the tournament he would be ineligible to play in college.
After winning his first two matches, Finau advanced to the 12-golfer final round and he was forced to make a decision: drop out and play college golf or go for the $2 million and become a professional.
As it turns out, he was leaning towards BYU and college, that it is until his parents “looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Son, you have a chance to play for $2 million, you are playing.’”
While Finau ultimately didn’t win, he did take home $100,000, after paying back the buy-in, to kick off his professional career.