Finau family a favorite at Par-3 Contest, but can Tony contend for Masters title?

SALT LAKE CITY — Tony Finau's stroll around Augusta National Golf Club may as well have included a diaper bag as much as a golf bag on Wednesday afternoon, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Like most of the pros getting ready for The Masters, Finau made an appearance Wednesday at the Par-3 Contest with his family, including wife Alayna and five children when ESPN's Marty Smith caught up with him. That's when Finau admitted that Wednesday's casual event was his favorite of the week.

"Of all the traditions they have here at Augusta National and at the Masters, this is the one I like the most," Finau said. "I love to have my family here with me. It's so fun, so cool; it's like the calm before the storm.

"We're all trying to chase after a green jacket. But today, I'm just cruising along on the par-3 golf course. I grew up on a par-3 course, so it's my favorite type of course to play. And then to have my family with me, with their jumpsuits on, with their hats, it's my favorite tradition."

This year, the Rose Park native's main role was letting his 21-month-old daughter nestle onto his shoulder during the contest — certainly a less painful result than the ankle he rolled celebrating an ace during the 2018 contest.

Finau will tee off Thursday at 12 p.m. MDT with Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood. Fellow Utah golfer Mike Weir, the BYU graduate from Canada who won the 2003 Masters, is scheduled to tee off at 6 a.m. MDT with Kevin Na. The first two rounds will be broadcast on ESPN, with Saturday and Sunday moving to CBS.

In addition to his role as family man and patriarch of his growing clan, Finau is also a pretty good golfer and extraordinarily well-liked on the PGA Tour.

Many call him the best golfer never to win a major, though doubts of his title contention have receded since he won his fifth victory on the tour last fall at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.

With 10 runner-up placements and 57 top-10 finishes, it's only a matter of time before the No. 13-ranked golfer in the Official World Golf Rankings breaks through for the big pay day, many argue — though his $34.9 million payday in tour money is a nice consolation prize while he waits.

But can that big breakthrough come this weekend in Augusta? Finau may not be at the top of his game, but he's playing as well as anybody at the moment, with nine-straight top-25 finishes and a pair in the top-10 to go along with his Houston title back on Nov. 11.

He's never won a major championship, but boasts a resume that includes three top-10 finishes in six appearances at Augusta National — and he's never missed a cut.

The 33-year-old long driver is at +2,500 odds to win this year at BetMGM, and between 22-to-1 and 25-to-1 odds in most books around the country.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is considered the favorite, with odds as high as 13-2 at Caesars Sportsbook. One-time Utah junior golfer Rory McIlroy, the Northern Ireland native who played briefly on the Wasatch Front in several 13-14 year old events and lived in Orem for the summer, is the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world and a 15-2 favorite, with No. 3 Jon Rahm just behind at 8-1.

A win on Sunday would give McIlroy his fifth major title, and make him the sixth golfer to complete the career grand slam.

"Look, nobody wants to win this more than me," said McIlroy, who finished second in 2022, during Tuesday's press conference in Augusta.

McIlroy tees off at 11:48 a.m. MDT.

Then, of course, there's the ultimate X-factor: Tiger Woods, who comes in as a longer shot than Finau to win his record-tying sixth green jacket and 16th major all-time. But at 47 and battling a knee injury that makes walking the hill-covered course at Augusta National difficult, Woods admitted Tuesday that mortality waits for no man, saying, "I don't know how many more I have in me" of the Masters.

And yet one can never count out Eldrick.

"If he didn't have to walk up these hills and have all of that, I'd say he'd be one of the favorites," McIlroy said. "I mean, he's got all of the shots. It's just that physical limitation of walking 72 holes, especially on a golf course as hilly as this.

"We never count Tiger out, and he can do incredible things. But you know, you watch him on the range and you watch him hit chips and putts, and he's got all the aspects of the game that you need to succeed around this place. It's just the toll it takes on his body to compete over 72 holes."

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