Utah’s Tony Finau is right where he wants to be after playing well in the first round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort No. 2 Golf Course Thursday in central North Carolina.
Former BYU golfer Zac Blair is also in decent shape and in position to make the 36-hole cut in the third major of the 2024 golf season.
Both Utahns started off the No. 10 tee in the morning wave, with Finau posting a 2-under 68 and Blair posting an even-par 70. Finau was tied for fifth and Blair was tied for 23rd after all the golfers who had teed off before noon, EDT, had completed their rounds.
“Getting off to a good start in any major championship is important, and I think in U.S. Opens, if you can post a red number (under par) early, it is a golf tournament that, you said it right on the button, I don’t feel like I have to do extra and chase guys down,” Finau said. “I am right in position, I feel like, after Round 1. Which is key if you are trying to win a major.”
Finau opened with a 68 in the first round of the U.S. Open last year at Los Angeles Country Club, but carded a worse score each passing day and finished in a tie for 32nd. He said he’s playing better this year and expects to be able to stay in the hunt for his first major title all week.
“I thought I played solidly all day. I kept it in the fairway most of the day,” he said. “This is a golf course that you can play (well) from the fairway. So I was really happy with the way I drove it. I think my score reflected how I drove the golf ball. I hit greens and I just made a couple of putts.”
Indeed, Finau, 34, hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. He was 12th in driving distance, despite not using his driver on all 14 non-par 3 holes.
“I hit driver quite a bit, but didn’t hit any 3-woods,” he said. “I was either hitting 3- or 4-iron or driver. I thought playing a little bit more aggressive on a day like today, where it was a little bit more getable, was a good game plan.”
Finau opened with a birdie on No. 10, sinking a 4-footer on the 619-yard par-5. He also birdied No. 18, making the turn at 2-under. The front nine (his back nine) was more adventurous, with two birdies and two bogeys.
He was tied for second on the leaderboard heading into his final hole Thursday, but missed a 5-footer for par on No. 9 and settled for an even-par 35 on that nine.
Blair, who was medalist at a sectional qualifying event in Springfield, Ohio, just to make the field in the 124th U.S. Open, also got off to a good start.
He made a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 13 to get into red figures, and also birdied No. 3 to get back to red figures after a bogey on No. 18.
Like Finau, Blair made a bogey on No. 9, his 18th hole Thursday, to drop down the leaderboard a bit. His 12-footer for par on the par-3 9th hole just missed.
One of the shorter drivers on the PGA Tour, the diminutive Blair overcame that apparent disadvantage with accurate driving and excellent iron play. He hit 11 of 14 fairway and 14 of 18 greens in regulation.
Blair was 122nd in driving distance when he left the course, averaging 286 yards with his drives. The field’s average was 297.9 yards.
Finau starts on the No. 1 tee at 11:36 a.m. MDT Friday, while Blair begins on No. 1 at 12:31 p.m. MDT.