facebook-pixel

Utah’s Tony Finau is tied for third in the British Open after one round

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig) Tony Finau, shown playing in the PGA Championship in May, is tied for third place after the first round of the British Open in Northern Ireland.

  | July 18, 2019, 8:24 p.m.

Lehi resident Tony Finau is off to another good start in the British Open with a bogey-free 68 in Thursday's first round at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

After teeing off in the late afternoon in Northern Ireland, Finau joined a huge group in a tie for third place by making birdies on the par-4 No.4, the par-4 No. 10 and the par-5 No. 12 for a 3-under par score. He's two strokes behind the leader, J.B. Holmes.

Finau is scheduled to tee off in the mid-morning Friday (2:47 a.m. MDT) in the second round.

Having missed the cut in the U.S. Open to end his streak of playing the weekend rounds in eight major tournaments, Finau has started this British Open the way he did last July’s event. He was tied for second place after the first round and tied for sixth after the second round on his way to a tie for ninth.

This is the last major tournament of the PGA Tour’s 2018-19 calendar, although Finau has a World Golf Championships event and the FedEx Cup Playoffs ahead of him. He’s hoping to move from No. 10 into the top eight in the U.S. standings for automatic qualification for the Presidents Cup in Australia in December.