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The FedEx Cup Playoffs are coming, as Tony Finau’s Ryder Cup campaign continues

PGA Tour’s 2017-18 season is over for fellow Utahns Zac Blair and Daniel Summerhays.

(AP Photo/David Goldman) Tony Finau hits from a bunker on the second hole during the fourth round at the Masters golf tournament Sunday, April 8, 2018, in Augusta, Ga.

  | Aug. 20, 2018, 7:25 p.m.
| Updated: 10:04 p.m.

Tony Finau is targeting the biggest showcase of his pro golf career. Zac Blair and Daniel Summerhays are playing just to keep their jobs.

Having three Utah high school graduates play the PGA Tour together for the past four seasons has created a historic convergence for the Utah golf community. Yet in a year when West High’s Finau has climbed to another level, finishing in the top 10 in three major tournaments and becoming a strong contender for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Fremont’s Blair and Davis' Summerhays face major challenges to remain as tour members.

The tour's 2017-18 season ended Sunday. Finau will launch the four-tournament FedExCup Playoffs this week in The Northern Trust in New Jersey, while Blair and Summerhays are eligible to play in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals, beginning this week at Columbus, Ohio.

Finau is No. 12 in the FedEx Cup standings. In addition to competing for the overall championship, he's trying to make a good impression on U.S. Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk. The first three captain's picks are due Sept. 4 after the second playoff event, with the final choice coming Sept. 10. The matches vs. Europe are scheduled Sept. 28-30 in Paris.

Finau is believed to have about a 50-50 chance of being picked, having received some media endorsements as a player who makes a lot of birdies and thrives on a big stage — good traits for a potential Ryder Cup player.

Above all, his career is a point where his consistent play is being rewarded and should perpetuate itself. Finau’s No. 30 Official World Golf Ranking ensures that he will continue to have access to the majors and the World Golf Championship events.

UTAH’S PGA PLAYERS IN 2017-18


• Zac Blair – 20 starts, 11 cuts made, two top-25s, $330,507 in earnings. Career earnings: $3.3 million.

• Tony Finau – 24 starts, 21 cuts made, eight top-10s, 15 top-25s, $3.83 million in earnings. Career earnings: $10.5 million.

• Daniel Summerhays – 19 starts, six cuts made, one top-10, $234,510 in earnings. Career earnings: $8.9 million.


Blair and Summerhays are in a different strata. They’re among players who finished between Nos. 126 and 200 in the FedEx Cup standings (Blair is 170th, Summerhays is 194th) and can play in the Web.com Tour Finals. With 25 players — including Utah Championship winner Cameron Champ — having earned their PGA Tour cards for the 2018-19 schedule that starts in October, about 125 golfers will play for another 25 spots awarded in the four-event series.

Blair was hurt by his lack of full access to the tour this season, having finished 126th in 2016-17. Summerhays was in a similar position, but the bigger problem for him was a major slump. He made only one cut after April. If not for a sixth-place finish in a team event in New Orleans with Finau as his partner, Summerhays wouldn’t have stayed in the top 200.

If they fail to gain access for 2018-19, Blair and Summerhays would have limited access to the start of the 2019 Web.com Tour schedule, with an opportunity to improve their status.