Tony Finau and Mike Weir had mixed results in the opening round of the Masters at Augusta National on Thursday, with Finau tying Tiger Woods at 1-under par and former champion Weir carding a 2-over par 74.
Both rounds were respectable and keeps the locals situated to challenge the field.
Weir, of Draper, who won the Masters in 2003, got off to a horrible start with a double-bogey three-putt on No. 1. He followed that up with birdies on No. 3, 12 and 16. He did bogey No. 11 to get to the clubhouse tied for 46th.
Finau, who lives in Arizona but calls Lehi and Rose Park his home, overcame a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 4 by making birdies on No. 2, 8, 15 and 17. He did make bogey on the par-3 No. 12 when he hit his tee shot in the water. He then backed up to where he could drop and get a decent swing and made a sensational approach to set up a 1-putt bogey. His 1-under 71 score put him in a group tied for 10th, three shots behind the early leader Cameron Smith.
“I’m just happy with the way I finished,” said Finau. “I birdied 15 and 17. 18 was really hard today. Tee shot straight off the left. I hit a really nice drive, so I was able to set up a good par. I think that’s a really good score today.
“I was happy with my finish. A couple of squirrely shots early in the middle of the round led to some bogeys, but I was happy just with the way I finished and to finish in red numbers today.”
Weir’s double-bogey could have crushed his spirits but the former BYU star played even the rest of the way and finished 2-over par.
“I played fine,” said Weir. “Kind of got a little bit difficult near the end of the day with the wind bouncing around. Yeah, I missed some opportunities. With the wedges in my hand, felt like I hit some really nice shots into 2, 8, 11 and 15 and just didn’t convert those. I thought they were really going to be close to the hole, maybe tap-ins, and that’s Augusta National. You get a little hard bounce, and next thing you know it’s a 10-foot downhill slider with a difficult putt.
“Outside that, I played pretty well, but for me to score well around here, I have to convert my wedges, and I didn’t do that today.”
The winds kept scores reachable for most of the field. Competitors found even or a couple under par kept them on the hunt for Friday’s second round.
Weir said his three birdies kept his head in the game. “Yeah, I felt very confident. I felt good with my game, and it was unfortunate on the first hole to do that, but the rest of the day I played fine. I could have really gotten the ball — could have gotten it under par today, which would have been great, but still, plus-2 at the end of the day won’t be too far off. Someone might shoot 4, 5 under out there today, but all in all, I played pretty well.”