Kragthorpe: Jay Don Blake savors Tony Finau's PGA Tour win, 25 years later

Mainly because the BYU golf program regularly sent players to the PGA Tour in the 1970s and '80s and several of them eventually made their homes in the state, Utah residents have enjoyed considerable success in pro golf.

When it comes to homegrown golfers, though, the picture is much different. Utah's population and weather are limiting factors. That's why is it so significant to have three high school graduates — Tony Finau, Daniel Summerhays and Zac Blair — as current PGA Tour members. Finau's victory Sunday in the Puerto Rico Open is the first tour win for a native Utahn since Jay Don Blake won the tour's San Diego event in 1991.

Blake played more than 20 years on the PGA and has won three Champions Tour titles in his 50s, and he's proud of the next generation of Utahns. "It's been fun to see all the Utah kids show that desire to progress," Blake wrote in a text message to The Tribune. "Tony's game fits right in with the tour. Tony hits it long and he putts it just as good. Many more wins coming his way."

The only downside of Finau's breakthrough is it came in an opposite-field event, with 64 players competing in a World Golf Championships tournamen in Austin, Texas. So the natural reaction is to think about what he doesn't get — a Masters invitation, which goes to most tournament winners. But there are many benefits.

The victory was worth $540,000, making him 39th on the PGA Tour money list with $972,791 for the 2015-16 season that started in October. He's 25th on the FedEx Cup points list, which will become important in the playoffs. Finau also moved to 72nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. And as Blake pointed out, Finau leads the tour in driving distance at 314.1 yards.

The biggest impact, as Finau described it Sunday, is is he now knows what it takes to win a PGA Tour title. It has been an interesting calendar year for the West High School graduate, who signed an endorsement deal with Nike in January — basically, the middle of the season — then went through a long slump, coincidentally or not.

Boyd Summerhays, one of the few homegrown Utahns to play the PGA Tour since Blake made it, is Finau's coach. Via text, Summerhays explained Finau's process of the past three months.

"Tony is very special physically and mentally," Summerhays said. "I have been saying for a long time that his mental toughness is very unique and a huge tool. Most players' confidence would have been shaken with the last few months of results, but he is very resilient and confident in in himself and his abilities. He continued to trust in the technical and equipment changes he was going through and stayed patient throughout that process."

During the weekend rounds in Puerto Rico, including the sudden-death playoff with Steve Marino that stretched to three holes, Summerhays said, "His confidence in himself and his ability to win took over. I always tell him that he has won at every single level of the game and that this level would be no different. He believes the same as well and he proved us both right."

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribkurt