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Sandy • After making a clutch, bogey-saving putt on the 18th hole that did more for his psyche than perhaps anything else, local favorite Tony Finau signed his scorecard, kissed his wife and hugged his adoring children, 2-year-old Jraice and 1-year-old Leilene.
Then the 24-year-old Lehi resident who graduated from Salt Lake City's West High and turned pro when he was just 17 openly admitted it.
"I am definitely nervous," Finau said. "I am not going to shy away from [saying] that, but I think it has given me more energy than anything else."
Raw nerves notwithstanding, Finau has put himself into decent shape to contend this weekend at the Web.com Tour's Utah Championship at Willow Creek Country Club. He followed Thursday's opening-round 65 with a solid 67 on Friday and is tied for fourth at 10-under 132, just three shots behind leader Andres Gonzales.
Like he did Thursday, Finau used his prodigious length to conquer most of Willow Creek's five par-5s, and made just one bogey — on No. 18 when his tee shot trickled into the pond in front of the green.
"That was huge," he said of the uphill 8-footer that plopped in as dozens of supporters roared with approval. "I fought all day, and that wasn't a very good swing on the last hole. I tried to hit a choke [7-iron], and kind of decelerated."
Finau got off to a brilliant start with three birdies on his first four holes. For about five minutes, the scoreboards around Willow Creek incorrectly credited him with a double-eagle 2 on the par-5 12th hole, and temporarily had him in the lead at 14-under, causing the small gallery around the 18th green to buzz.
Alas, he really only made a birdie on the hole. A good opportunity to birdie the last par-5 was damaged when his tee shot found a fairway bunker, keeping him from reaching the green in two. The tee shot errors on 17 and 18 kept him from being in the lead group on Saturday morning, but he's not complaining.
"A good position going into the weekend is all I can ask for," Finau said.
The 31-year-old Gonzales, who grew up in a Seattle suburb and played collegiately at UNLV, took control of the tournament with a 62 on Thursday and stayed hot on Friday with an opening-hole eagle en route to a 67.
Former BYU golfer Zac Blair, playing in his second-straight Web.com Tour event, made his second straight cut with a 7-under 135 and is tied for 24th. Blair's scorecard included three 2s as he birdied three of the course's six par-3s, a rare feat. A double-bogey on No. 13 marred a fantastic round.
Former BYU golfer Clay Ogden, a Monday qualifier, shot a 70 on Friday and finished at 1-under. Provo's Chris Moody finished at 1-over.
Scott Pinckney, who grew up in Orem before his family moved to Arizona, is tied for 15th at 8-under. —
Utah Championship
O Friday's highlights:
• Washington's Andres Gonzales holds on to his first-day lead with a 4-under 67 and has a two-shot lead over Steve Wheatcroft and Travis Bertoni
• Lehi's Tony Finau, a West High graduate, is tied for fourth at 10-under 132 after a 67. —
Friday's results
Web.com-Utah Championship
At Willow Creek Country Club
Sandy, Utah
Purse • $625,000
Yardage • 6,953; Par • 71 (35-36)
Second round
Andres Gonzales 62-67 — 129
Steve Wheatcroft 65-66 — 131
Travis Bertoni 68-63 — 131
Sung Kang 67-65 — 132
Adam Crawford 71-61 — 132
Jose Toledo 66-66 — 132
Bhavik Patel 66-66 — 132
Tony Finau 65-67 — 132
Blayne Barber 68-65 — 133
Kevin Kim 68-65 — 133
Byron Smith 67-66 — 133
Ben Kohles 66-67 — 133
Colt Knost 68-65 — 133
Ryan Spears 68-65 — 133
Steve Allan 69-65 — 134
Scott Pinckney 69-65 — 134
Skip Kendall 65-69 — 134
Roger Sloan 67-67 — 134
Alistair Presnell 67-67 — 134
Kevin Lucas 67-67 — 134
Bill Lunde 67-67 — 134
Cliff Kresge 67-67 — 134
Aaron Goldberg 67-67 — 134
Scott Parel 68-67 — 135
Vaughn Taylor 69-66 — 135
Kelly Kraft 67-68 — 135
Carlos Ortiz 67-68 — 135
Nicholas Lindheim 67-68 — 135
Cam Burke 67-68 — 135
Jerod Turner 69-66 — 135
Zac Blair 68-67 — 135
Jason Gore 66-69 — 135
John Mallinger 69-66 — 135
Jimmy Gunn 68-68 — 136
Brett Stegmaier 69-67 — 136
Alexandre Rocha 67-69 — 136
Vince India 66-70 — 136
Justin Shin 66-70 — 136
Jeff Curl 69-67 — 136
Whee Kim 71-65 — 136
Matt Davidson 70-66 — 136
Brad Elder 68-68 — 136
Martin Piller 66-70 — 136
Chase Wright 68-68 — 136
Harold Varner III 71-65 — 136
Mark Hubbard 68-68 — 136
Paul Peterson 65-71 — 136
Peter Lonard 69-68 — 137
Ryan Blaum 70-67 — 137
Luke List 68-69 — 137
Fabian Gomez 70-67 — 137
Scott Piercy 68-69 — 137
Jeff Klauk 68-69 — 137
Camilo Benedetti 69-68 — 137
Andrew Putnam 73-64 — 137
Sam Saunders 67-70 — 137
Zack Fischer 69-68 — 137
Steve Saunders 70-67 — 137
Shane Bertsch 69-68 — 137
Max Homa 69-68 — 137
Matt Weibring 70-67 — 137
Casey Clendenon 67-70 — 137
Jonathan Fricke 71-66 — 137
Brad Schneider 70-67 — 137
Chris Baker 70-67 — 137
Failed to Qualify
Nick O'Hern 69-69 — 138
J.J. Killeen 69-69 — 138
Carlos Sainz Jr 71-67 — 138
Nick Rousey 69-69 — 138
Timothy O'Neal 68-70 — 138
Si Woo Kim 68-70 — 138
Jeff Gove 69-69 — 138
Cameron Percy 69-69 — 138
D.J. Brigman 69-69 — 138
Scott Harrington 67-71 — 138
Darron Stiles 72-66 — 138
Peter Tomasulo 71-67 — 138
Justin Thomas 68-70 — 138
T.J. Vogel 69-69 — 138
James Sacheck 69-69 — 138
Rob Oppenheim 71-67 — 138
Riley Wheeldon 70-68 — 138
Roberto Diaz 69-69 — 138
Michael Kim 72-66 — 138
Sebastian Cappelen 69-70 — 139
Hunter Haas 72-67 — 139
Jon Curran 69-70 — 139
Matt Hendrix 72-67 — 139
Josh Broadaway 71-68 — 139
Jason Millard 73-66 — 139
Brandon Brown 69-70 — 139
Todd Baek 67-72 — 139
Aaron Watkins 71-68 — 139
Oscar Fraustro 70-69 — 139
Derek Fathauer 69-70 — 139
Gavin Coles 67-72 — 139
Sebastian Vazquez 70-69 — 139
Jared Wolfe 73-66 — 139
Paul Haley II 68-71 — 139
Tom Berry 68-71 — 139
James Nitties 74-66 — 140
Shaun Micheel 69-71 — 140
Ted Purdy 69-71 — 140
Nick Taylor 69-71 — 140
Andy Pope 71-69 — 140
Zack Sucher 67-73 — 140
Fernando Mechereffe 73-67 — 140
Aron Price 70-70 — 140
Andres Echavarria 71-69 — 140
Nathan Tyler 72-68 — 140
Trevor Murphy 72-68 — 140
Eric Mina 68-72 — 140
Paul Claxton 71-70 — 141
Franklin Corpening 71-70 — 141
Bronson Burgoon 72-69 — 141
Christian Brand 72-69 — 141
Neil Johnson 69-72 — 141
Kyle Stough 67-74 — 141
Jake Johnson 70-71 — 141
Bryan Martin 71-70 — 141
Philip Pettitt, Jr. 73-68 — 141
Kyle Thompson 68-73 — 141
Steve LeBrun 71-70 — 141
Clay Ogden 71-70 — 141
Steve Friesen 72-69 — 141
Mike Drake 70-71 — 141
Brett Lederer 70-72 — 142
Grant Norton 74-68 — 142
Michael Weaver 71-71 — 142
Casey Wittenberg 72-70 — 142
Brent Witcher 72-70 — 142
Tyler Weworski 74-68 — 142
Matt Fast 73-70 — 143
Justin Lower 70-73 — 143
Chris Moody 73-70 — 143
Mathew Goggin 74-69 — 143
Ashley Hall 72-71 — 143
Tom Hoge 69-74 — 143
Cory Renfrew 68-75 — 143
Amory Davis 70-73 — 143
Josh Anderson 74-70 — 144
Steven Alker 70-74 — 144
Albin Choi 71-73 — 144
Jake Younan 70-74 — 144
John Kimbell 74-71 — 145
Justin Snelling 76-69 — 145
Jin Park 75-70 — 145
Ryan Sullivan 76-70 — 146
Garrett Osborn 74-72 — 146
Mackenzie Hughes 72-75 — 147
Chris Epperson 72-76 — 148
Kevin Johnson 76-73 — 149
Chris Wilson 76-73 — 149
David Skinns 74-75 — 149
Jorge Fernandez-Valdes 75-74 — 149
Hugo Leon 76 — WD