Utah’s Tony Finau off to a solid start at The Open Championship, in good shape to make the cut at the year’s final major

Utah’s Tony Finau put himself into good position to make the cut at the 152nd Open Championship early Thursday morning, firing an even-par 71 at Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Finau, a graduate of Salt Lake City’s West High School, was tied for 13th when he finished his opening round, with plenty of golfers still on the course.

A year after he missed the cut at the British Open at Royal Liverpool, the first time he had missed the cut in the tournament, Finau played a solid round with two birdies and two bogeys. The Utah native has been in the top 20 in his last five tournaments , including a tie for third last month in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

His best-ever finish at The Open Championship came in 2019, when he placed third at Royal Portrush behind Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.

Finau struggled a little bit off the tee on Thursday — he was 129th in the field in driving accuracy when he left the course — but made up for it with some outstanding approach shots. He was 26th in hitting greens in regulation.

After starting his round with seven consecutive pars, he made a 14-footer for birdie on the par-3 eighth hole to get into red figures. But he missed a 5-footer for birdie on No. 9, which was playing as the third-hardest hole on the links course.

On the back nine, Finau made a bogey on No. 11 when he missed an 8-footer for par. He saved par on No. 13 with a 12-footer.

He went under par again with a birdie on the 565-yard par-5 16th, the easiest hole on course. His approach found a greenside bunker, but he “saved” the birdie with a 6-foot putt.

However, he gave it back on the par-3 17th, missing the green with his tee shot. He avoided a double bogey by making an 8-footer to drop to even par.

Finau will start his second round at 7:26 a.m. MDT Friday with Russell Henley and Matthieu Pavon. Henley shot a 2-under 69 Thursday, while Pavon carded a 72.

The most newsworthy development early Thursday at The Open were the struggles faced by Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the pre-tournament favorites.

McIlroy shot a 7-over 78 and DeChambeau, the reigning U.S. Open champion, shot a 76. The early leader was Justin Thomas of the United States, who made seven birdies and came in with a 68.