At 16, Finau well on his way to achieving golf goals

Unlike most kids who try to emulate their older siblings, Tony Finau got his start in golf because he wanted to be like his little brother.

You see, Gipper Finau started playing golf at the age of 5 after watching Tiger Woods on television. He was so enthralled, he started hitting balls into a net in his garage during the winter. Before he was 7, Gipper was beating adults and winning trophies in 10-and-under division junior golf tournaments.

This got Tony's attention, so at the age of 8, he began playing golf. Within a couple of years, he was as good as his younger brother, and the two became a feared tandem in local junior golf. Partly because of his superior size, Tony has progressed slightly further than his younger brother, although both are among the best in their age groups in the entire country.

Already this month, Finau has played in the Pacific Coast Amateur in California against mostly college-age players, and this past week at the Westfield Junior PGA in Ohio, where he shot a final-round 64 to finish in second place against players up to 18 years of age (Gipper finished in a tie for 19th).

Last month was a very good one for Finau. Early in July, the 16-year-old became one of the youngest winners in Men's State Amateur history. Then later in the month, he shared top honors at the Junior America's Cup in Ogden, featuring top junior golfers from the western United States.

For his excellent play, Finau is the Deseret Morning News Athlete of the Month for July.

At the State Am, playing at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Finau wasn't one of the pre-tournament favorites. Not with the abundance of top collegiate golfers, including two-time champion Daniel Summerhays, U.S. Public Links champion Clay Ogden, former Utah Open champion Greg Buckway and defending State Am champ Michael McRae.

In retrospect, Finau should have been one of the favorites. He had been playing in the State Am since he was 13 and had made it to match play every year since, one of just three players to do so.

However, he almost didn't make it to the first tee.

The weekend before the State Am, Tony and Gipper both came down with walking pneumonia and were even hospitalized for a night.

Tony was released the day before the tournament started and, still wearing his bright green hospital bracelet as he would all week, teed off Wednesday morning.

His first drive went "100 yards to the right," and Finau wondered, "maybe I should just go home." However, he settled down and shot a first-round 73, followed by a 69 to make it into match play.