SALT LAKE CITY – Utah’s Tony Finau has completed his opening round at the Hero World Challenge, while sporting a new Utah Jazz-themed golf bag, and will enter round two just three shots off the pace.
Finau, who is sporting a slick new Utah Jazz-themed golf bag, and currently has Utah Jazz owner and good friend Ryan Smith carrying the bag, completed the opening round at even par. Finau’s round included 4 birdies, 4 bogeys, and 12 pars.
Bag drop 🔥🔥
Thank you @PingTour for allowing me to create this 1of1 bag with @Go_Aptive spirit @utahjazz. Reppin the home squad with my dude Ryan Smith 🙌🏾 #inspiresomeone #takenote pic.twitter.com/tv8eocqibw— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) November 30, 2022
Opening Round Explained
Interestingly, three of the four bogeys for Finau came before the first birdie dropped. He quickly found himself three over par thru six before he managed to drop his first birdie of the day and tournament on the par 4 7th.
Finau managed to find 62% of fairways and only 56% of greens in regulation. Fortunately, the flat stick stole the show for Finau who averaged just a 1.6 putting average throughout the opening round.
At even par, Finau finds himself in a share of ninth alongside the likes of Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, and Scottie Scheffler. Finau’s playing partner, Max Homa, is a shot ahead of Finau on the leaderboard and in a tie for sixth.
Currently, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Collin Morikawa, and Viktor Hovland are in a four-way tie for first place following opening rounds of three under par.
Tigers Tournament
The Hero World Challenge is being hosted in the Bahamas and is widely known as the “Tigers Tournament,” Tiger Woods hosts a tournament that includes a small group of the world’s top golfers every year. All proceeds from the tournament support the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Unfortunately, Woods was not able to play in this year’s tournament following further complications with his leg injury suffered during a car crash in California in 2021.
At a recent press conference prior to the Hero World Challenge, Woods admitted that the injury sustained to his leg will forever impact his golfing future. Moving forward, Woods plans on playing in all of the majors and a handful of other tournaments, but gone are the days of Woods strutting around 20 golf courses a year while on Tour.
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