Utah’s Tony Finau put himself into good position to make the cut at the 152nd Open Championship early Thursday morning, firing an even-par 71 at Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Finau, a graduate of Salt Lake City’s West High School, was tied for 13th when he finished his opening round, with plenty of golfers still on the course.
A year after he missed the cut at the British Open at Royal Liverpool, the first time he had missed the cut in the tournament, Finau played a solid round with two birdies and two bogeys. The Utah native has been in the top 20 in his last five tournaments, including a tie for third last month in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
His best-ever finish at The Open Championship came in 2019, when he placed third at Royal Portrush behind Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.
Finau struggled a little bit off the tee on Thursday — he was 129th in the field in driving accuracy when he left the course — but made up for it with some outstanding approach shots. He was 26th in hitting greens in regulation.
After starting his round with seven consecutive pars, he made a 14-footer for birdie on the par-3 eighth hole to get into red figures. But he missed a 5-footer for birdie on No. 9, which was playing as the third-hardest hole on the links course.
On the back nine, Finau made a bogey on No. 11 when he missed an 8-footer for par. He saved par on No. 13 with a 12-footer.
He went under par again with a birdie on the 565-yard par-5 16th, the easiest hole on course. His approach found a greenside bunker, but he “saved” the birdie with a 6-foot putt.
However, he gave it back on the par-3 17th, missing the green with his tee shot. He avoided a double bogey by making an 8-footer to drop to even par.
Finau will start his second round at 7:26 a.m. MDT Friday with Russell Henley and Matthieu Pavon. Henley shot a 2-under 69 Thursday, while Pavon carded a 72.
The most newsworthy development early Thursday at The Open were the struggles faced by Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the pre-tournament favorites.
McIlroy shot a 7-over 78 and DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, shot a 76. The early leader was Justin Thomas of the United States, who made seven birdies and came in with a 68.