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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tony Finau walked on to the course at Augusta National for his first-ever Masters with a lot of questions, a hurt ankle after a celebration mishap in Wednesday’s Par-3 Contest and a healthy dose of optimism for making it to Georgia.
He walked off in contention.
Finau carded a 4-under-par 68 to finish tied for second place Thursday evening after the opening round of the Masters, finishing two shots back of 2015 Masters champ Jordan Spieth.
Matt Kuchar's birdie at No. 18 also earned him a share of second place.
Spieth carded a 6-under 66, surged ahead of Finau for the lead with five-straight birdies on the back nine for a three-shot lead before the final hole. It was the best run of consecutive birdies in a major in PGA history.
While the moment he sprained his ankle Wednesday during the Par-3 Contest caused friends, family and fans back home to grimace at discomfort, Finau said the injury may have helped him in the end.
"I was in the same moment, I think because of my foot," he told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt after his round. "Every shot that I hit, I had to think about it a little bit. It was easy to stay in the moment and I think it masked the pressure a little bit.
The 28-year-old Finau injured his ankle while celebrating a hole-in-one Wednesday afternoon. But the West High alum and college basketball recruit who grew up in Rose Park popped in an apparently dislocated left ankle and limped to the finish of the event.
Finau had an X-ray that revealed no bone damage on the ankle Wednesday night, and a second scan Thursday morning showed he was good enough to play. But he had never suffered such an injury before — he sprained his right ankle once in high school, he said — and wasn't about to let it keep him out of playing in his first Masters.
"As long as I felt OK, I knew I was going to play," Finau said, adding that he had been on the driving range for hours before he teed off. "There was nothing wrong with my foot — nothing broken. I was very excited to hear that.
"It felt good. It really did. I think it was a little bit of adrenaline; it was mind of matter for me."
"The emotions have been pretty crazy." -- @tonyfinaugolf speaks about the past 24 hours following his first round 68. #themasterspic.twitter.com/yzHk0hqEnG
— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 5, 2018
The Lehi resident came out on fire, carding back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 to hit the turn at 3-under. He added birdies on the par-5 13th and 15th holes to jump into a tie for the lead with two holes to play, and led by one stroke heading into the twilight of the opening round.
Finau will tee off in Group 7 with Germany's Bernhard Langer and Japan's Yuta Ikeda at 7:36 a.m. MT Friday.
Former BYU golfer Mike Weir shot 4-over 76 in his opening round. He'll tee off at 9:37 a.m. MT Friday.
