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SALT LAKE CITY — Tony Finau had a stellar seat for one of the great opening rounds of the 2022 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
As for his own performance, it left him in a good place but still wanting plenty more.
World No. 1-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler, who played alongside Finau, shot 3-under-par 69 to finish one shot off the lead after Thursday's early flight in the opening round of the Masters.
Cameron Smith shot 4-under 68 to tie for the lead with Dustin Johnson when he walked off the course. Sungjae Im came along and shot 5-under 67 to stand alone in first place. Smith was one shot back in second, followed by Scheffler, England's Danny Willett and Johnson Joaquin Niemann of Chile in a tie for third.
Finau shot 1-under 71, pairing four birdies with a bogey and double bogey to sit four shots off the lead. The Rose Park native played the par-5s at 3-under and added a birdie on the par-4, 440-yard 17th hole before entering the clubhouse and finishing in a tie for 10th.
Playing in his fifth Masters, Finau has learned never to take the experience for granted. But rather than feeling nervous or anxious, he told Real Golf Radio that he feels excited every time he travels to Augusta, Georgia.
"I've played this place a lot, and a lot of high-pressured golf," he said. "For me, by the time Thursday comes around, my excitement needs to be down to about zero and I just need to compete. It's the tournament we all want to win, and containing the excitement is the toughest test.
"I played nicely; a couple of shots I'd like to have back, but that's the way it goes."
A perfectly placed tee shot from Tony Finau. #themasterspic.twitter.com/VkBNlNn9O0
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2022
With all eyes on playing partner Scheffler and Tiger Woods playing just ahead of them, Finau started strong with a perfectly placed tee shot and a birdie on the par-5, 575-yard second hole.
The West High graduate undid that work with a double bogey on the par-3, 240-yard fourth hole, but saved par with a strong up-and-in on the par-4 fifth and rebounded well after his biggest miscue.
Finau got back to even-par with a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole, angling a well-placed shot from between the two greenside bunkers to 12 feet from the hole and setting up an easy two-putt birdie.
He gave one back with a bogey on the par-3 12th hole, but struck a well-placed putt from the fringe on the par-5 15th hole to pull back a birdie en route to his 71.
In the calendar's first major, Finau hit 71% of his fairways, 78% of his greens, and boasted an average driving distance of 291 yards. Even the short game wasn't consistently letting down the 32-year-old Lehi resident who also lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he trains year-round.
"I hit a lot of fairways today, but I never had a lie that was flat," Finau said. "There's so much judging and guessing how a ball will come off the wind … you're never hitting from a flat lie to a flat green. There's a lot going on at this golf course, and you felt every bit of that."
Finau will tee off Friday in the final group of the day, currently scheduled for 12:03 p.m. MDT.
After opening with a double bogey on the par-4 first hole, former BYU golfer Mike Weir finished at 2-over 74. The 2003 Masters champion carded birdies on the third and 12th holes to take his position seven shots back of the leaders.
Woods made his return to competitive golf for the first time in a year and half with a 1-under 71. Playing in his first major since 2019, Woods carded three birdies with two bogeys, including 1-under 35 on the back nine, as he walked off the course inside of the top 10 and three off Smith's 4-under.
You can't win a tournament on the opening day. But struggling with health and personal issues on and off the course, Thursday had to feel pretty good for Eldrick Tont Woods, right?
Woods, 46, called the round "awful" to start, but added that he built up more as the day wore on before ending with a red number next to his name.
Barely 14 months removed from a single-car rollover near Los Angeles that caused significant injuries in his right leg, Woods trudged on with a surgically repaired broken tibia with a rod, not to mention the shrapnel of screws and pins in his foot and ankle.
Just 408 days later, Woods was back on the course, and even giving his trademark fist pump after a birdie on the par-3 16th hole that sent roars across the jam-packed gallery that followed hi every step of the way.
Woods looked at ease as he made his usual competitive jaunt around Augusta National. But make no mistake.
"I did not get easier; I'll put it that way," Woods said. "I can swing a golf club. The walking is not easy, and it's difficult. With all the hardware in my leg, it's going to be difficult for the rest of my life. But I'm able to do it, and that's something I'm very lucky to have this opportunity to play.
"The place was electric. I hadn't played like this since '19, when I won. To have the patrons fully out and that kind of energy out there was awesome to feel."
