S.L. teen drives into $2 million territory

LAS VEGAS — You'd think when you're playing for $2 million in a 36-hole tournament, you might want to take it easy the first day and make sure you don't shoot yourself out of the tournament.

Not Tony Finau.

The 17-year-old recently-turned-professional golfer from Salt Lake City kept bombing away on the tight Wynn Las Vegas Golf Club course, hitting 300-yard-plus drives 50 to 75 yards past his playing partners all day Thursday.

And it didn't hurt him, because at the end of the day, Finau found himself just two shots off the lead in the Ultimate Game at Wynn Las Vegas with a 1-under-par 69.

"That's just how I play," Finau said. "I pull out driver and try to hit it as straight as I can. It worked today and hopefully the putts will fall tomorrow."

For the most part, Finau kept his prodigious drives in play in Thursday's opening round. What hurt him was his putting. He missed several makeable putts that could have put him a few more under par and perhaps given him the lead.

Finau, who just completed high school at West High last week, is one of 12 golfers playing for $2 million, the largest prize in golf history. It's a winner-take-all format, which means there's no reward for finishing second.

Byron Smith, a 26-year-old former Pepperdine golfer from Palm Desert, Calif., leads the pack of a dozen golfers with a 3-under-par 67, a shot better than Scott Piercy and Ken Jarner, two Las Vegas golfers.

Finau is alone in fourth place at 69, followed by Kevin Streelman and Randy Leen at 70. Erik Compton is another stroke back at 71, followed by Ron Faria at 72 and Nate Whitson at 73. Travis Johnson shot 74, Chris Berry had a 75 and former major league pitcher and part-time Champions Tour player Rick Rhoden struggled with a 79.

Despite the pressure of playing for such a huge purse with no consolation prize, Finau looked relaxed, as if he was out for a Saturday afternoon round at his home Rose Park Golf Course.

"I felt really good — I didn't feel a lot of pressure, I really didn't," Finau said. "I felt pretty relaxed, and I think my game showed it. I felt really comfortable. It seemed like the guys I was playing with seemed more nervous than I was."

Right from the start, Finau's game was under control.

His drive on the 406-yard first hole was about 20 yards short of the green and measured 374 yards.

"After that drive, I was, 'Why not hit driver?"' Finau said. "I missed a couple of drives, but I'm not too worried about it. I put good swings on them. I was fine with the way I was swinging today."