PGA golfer Tony Finau, right, and his father, Kelepi Finau, pose for a photo at Tony’s home in Lehi on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018.
PGA golfer Tony Finau, right, and his father, Kelepi Finau, pose for a photo at Tony’s home in Lehi on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

By Jay Drew

Jay has covered sports in Utah for more than 30 years and has been writing for the Deseret News since 2019.

Another major golf championship, another cut made for Utah’s Tony Finau.

The 32-year-old from Salt Lake City was not especially sharp on Friday, and his putting again left something to be desired, but Finau fired a 2-over 72 in the second round of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Golf Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to easily make the 36-hole cut.

Finau stands at 1-over 141 for the tournament, good enough for a tie for 30th place heading into the weekend.

Finau has now made the cut in 7 of 8 PGA Championships and 20 of 24 majors. He’s 10 shots back of the leader, and there are plenty of former major champions between him and Will Zalatoris, so a realistic goal now is a 14th top-25 finish in a major. He’s had 10 top-10 finishes in majors.

Zalatoris, who was fourth at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship in 2020, sits atop the leaderboard at 9-under, having shot a bogey-free 65 in the second round. Chilean professional Mito Pereira is a shot back at 132.

Friday’s biggest news, however, was that Tiger Woods made the cut, and is tied for 53rd at 3-over. The cut came at 4-over.

Finau didn’t make a single birdie in the second round, mixing 16 pars with two bogeys — on holes 2 and 12.

On the par-4 second hole, he hit his tee shot into a hazard left of the fairway, took a penalty stroke and settled for a bogey.

On the par-4 12th, his tee shot came to rest in the left rough, behind trees, and he was forced to chip out. He missed a 26-footer for par to move to 2-over on the day.

Finau missed left throughout the day, on both of his tee shots and his approaches. He had a half-dozen or so good looks at birdie, but struggled on the greens that were not mowed Friday and were therefore slow and difficult to read.

They were not mowed because of expected windy conditions Friday morning. It was windy early, but calmed down in the afternoon when Finau and partners Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele played.

Finau had yet to birdie any of Southern Hills’ par-5s. His best chance Friday came at the No. 13, a 636-yard dogleg left. However, he missed a 10-footer, hitting his putt through the break.