Tony Finau brings a hockey-stick putter to Utah in search of better golf

The PGA Tour returns to Utah this week, and so does Utah’s favorite golfer. Tony Finau is making his debut at the Bank of Utah Championship, the first PGA Tour event in the state, at Black Desert Resort in Ivins.

“It’s nice to have a home game,” Finau said Wednesday. He grew up in Salt Lake City and now lives in Lehi. This is the third edition of Utah’s first PGA Tour event, but Finau is playing it for the first time.

“To have a PGA Tour event in Utah and now to be participating in it on this stage for a home crowd, I’m really excited about it,” he said.

Black Desert Resort is a visual spectacle, with red rocks and black lava lining the fairways. “If you dropped me here, I would think I might be on a different planet. It’s incredibly cool,” Finau said.

Finau arrives in an unfamiliar position: No. 100 in the FedEx Cup. After years of regularly representing the United States — he missed only one team from 2018 through 2024 — his level has slipped over the last two seasons. In 2026, he did not play in any of the four majors.

His PGA Tour status for 2027 is secure because victories in 2022 and 2023 exempted him through 2027. Still, improving his position matters. It could help him qualify for the lucrative Signature Events, which offer substantial prize money and points. A win this week would also guarantee Finau a place in the 2028 Championship Series.

Finau has only one top-30 finish in his last 15 starts, but he showed no sign during Wednesday’s media availability that the run was weighing on him.

“I didn’t have the PGA Tour season that I wanted throughout the ’26 season, but the great thing about this game with the experience that I have is any time you’re playing well, it’s a good time to play well. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the fall, in the spring, in the summer. Hopefully I start playing better at this tournament this week,” he said.

The six-time PGA Tour winner said he had never really been in a situation like this, thinking so much about his ranking and future status. In search of an edge, he has turned to unusual equipment.

“No secret I’m using a hockey stick to putt with,” Finau said. He debuted the new putter at the Biltmore Championship two weeks ago. Despite missing the cut, he said he “really liked it” and has brought it back this week.

The Caliber Golf putter has a flat grip that Finau says makes aiming easier.

“The way you put your hands on it, it all faces the exact same angle as the putter face. I thought that was a really cool thing, and I just think it’s easier to aim. I’ve always been really good from 20-, 25-plus feet throughout the history of my PGA Tour career, and then as I got closer to the hole, not as good.

“Aiming to me is the most important thing. The closer you get to the hole, the better you have to aim. You don’t have time to manipulate the face on a short putt. So it seems to help me aim better, and that’s why I put it in the bag,” he explained.

Finau plans to play several more events this fall, including both tournaments in Mexico; he won one of them in 2023. But this week is particularly special because he is playing at home.

On Tuesday, he played a fully Utah group in a practice round with three amateurs: BYU’s Kihei Akina and Arizona State players Bowen Mauss and Boston Bracken.

“They were just trying to soak up, I think, the experience, asked me a lot of questions about my career, how I got where I am. They’ve all followed me. But to really just have that experience with them on the golf course at a PGA Tour event was a special thing, not only for them, but again, for me,” Finau said.

Finau expects to hit plenty of driving irons to stay away from the lava hazards, which he said effectively play as out-of-bounds. He also plans to enjoy the home game, with his family driving down, his parents in town and plenty of support waiting for him.

“You can’t beat the views in St. George. There’s nothing like it really in the world,” he said.

Now he will hope his scorecard is just as impressive.