Utah Golf: Blair clinches PGA Tour card, Finau T7 at low-scoring 3M Open

A handful of former and current Utah golfers erupted across professional and amateur golf on the final weekend in July, led by Zac Blair clinching his PGA Tour card through 2024 at the 3M Open in Minnesota.

Blair shot a final-round 64 to finish with a four-day total of 13-under-par 271 Sunday at TPC Twin Cities. The former Fremont High star shot 69 or better in three of his four rounds to finish well above the T31 he needed in the final four starts of his medical exemption to regain full status on the PGA Tour two years after a pair of surgeries on his right shoulder.

The 32-year-old former BYU golfer missed nearly two years after having surgery to repair his right labrum in 2020, and was down to just three more starts on his medical exemption to regain his status. Blair missed the cut in six of his past eight starts, but a T2 in the Travelers Championship and T10 at the Valspar Championship gave him a shot at the card with a strong finish in the late summer and early fall.

His 64 Sunday was more than enough to clinch that status, and pushed his career earnings to just over $6 million in 167 starts on the PGA Tour.

Rose Park native Tony Finau finished tied for seventh at 15-under, shooting 66-66-67 before finishing with a Sunday 70 for his fifth top-10 finish of the year.

The West High graduate and former 3M champ had missed the past two cuts, including as defending champion of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit and The Open championship in Scotland, before adding $245,050 to his winnings Sunday while "hitting it a little bit better," he said after his third round.

"The swing feels a little more polished for some reason," Finau added. "Sometimes you just have it and sometimes you don't. This week, hitting it a little bit better. Obviously, I made some putts, but just more confidence in the direction of the golf ball, so that's always a good thing."

Lee Hodges cruised to his first win on the PGA Tour with a sparkling 24-under 260 and a $1.4 million prize check.

Former BYU golfer Peter Kuest shot 7-under over 72 holes to finish tied for 50th, while former two-time Utah state amateur champion Preston Summerhays carded 70 before missing the cut in the Twin Cities.

Fishburn makes history in runner-up finish on Korn Ferry Tour

Former BYU golfer Patrick Fishburn set a Korn Ferry Tour record with 108 consecutive holes at par or better before falling to Trace Crowe in a playoff at the NV5 Invitational.

The former Fremont High golfer carded five birdies en route to 31 on the front nine of his final round in Glenville, Illnois, en route to his record performance. Fishburn's streak was stopped with a bogey on the par-3, 211-yard 11th hole, but he recovered with a bogey at No. 12 and made eagle on the par-5, 561-yard 18th to force a playoff with Crowe.

"I didn't know if he was 22 or at 23, but then it was confirmed that he just moved to 25," Crowe said after confirming he heard the crowd roar at Fishburn's final putt in regulation. "Yeah, I just knew I had to make birdie. I end up hitting the wedge short a couple times. Yeah, no, got in a playoff, yeah."

Fishburn was eliminated with a bogey on the second hole of the playoff, lifting Crowe to his first professional victory Sunday afternoon and booking Fishburn's $90,000 runner-up check.

Just as important, Fishburn moved up to 15th in the Korn Ferry Tour rankings a week before the million-dollar Utah Championship at Oakridge Country Club, where finished second a year ago. The top-30 players at the end of the season clinch a PGA Tour card for next year.

BYU's Shelley wins Pacific Coast Amateur

BYU rising junior Tyson Shelly made birdie on the second hole of a playoff to capture the Pacific Coast Amateur at Capilano Golf and Country Club in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

The former Skyline High star ripped a final-round 62 to finish with a four-day total of 267 and inch past Jack Buchanan of Australia for the hole-by-hole playoff win.

"I feel like everything clicked today," Shelley said. "My driver has been exceptional all week; today, it was down the middle every time. My putts were lipping out throughout the week, but today everything fell inside the hole. I think that's what led to my 62 today."

Shelley was one of four BYU golfers playing in the tournament. Incoming freshman Cooper Jones shot 6-under 274 to finish tied for 13th with 18 birdies and an eagle throughout the four-day tournament. Rising senior Keanu Akina shot 8-over 288, tied for 53rd with Zac Jones — the former Utah state amateur champion and Cooper's older brother — and others.

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