Invitation extended to Finau

By Mike Sorensen
Deseret Morning News

Utah State Amateur champion Tony Finau and the winner of this week's Utah Open will both receive sponsor's exemptions into next month's Utah Championship at Willow Creek Country Club, tournament organizers announced Monday.
Tournament director Evan Byers said the 16-year-old Finau was selected because of his outstanding play this summer, which included a win at the Junior Americas Cup and a second-place finish at the Westfield PGA Junior, in addition to his State Am win.
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to bang it with the big boys," said Finau. "I'm excited to play and I'll be ready."
The EnergySolutions Championship will be played the week of Sept. 4-10.
Two others who will receive exemptions are Dave Stockton Jr., a former winner on the Nationwide Tour, and Sonny Skinner, who has been a regular at the Nationwide event in Utah over the years.
This will be the second year in a row that the Utah Open winner will receive an exemption. Last year, Nick McKinlay earned a spot and played well but missed the cut by three.
"These are some highly talented players that will bring a lot of excitement to this year's tournament," Byers said.
Byers said it was "awesome" that recent Nationwide winners in Utah, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich, qualified for the Ryder Cup matches, which will be held next month in Ireland.
Last year's champion, Garrett Willis, may or may not be back to defend his title, depending on whether he makes it into the Canadian Open the same week as the Utah event.

UTAH OPEN: Thirty-nine golfers qualified for this weekend's Utah Open in a qualifying tournament at South Mountain Golf Course on Monday.
Chris Cole, an amateur from Orem, led the way with a 4-under-par 68, one stroke better than Wyoming pro Ashdon Woods. Amateur Jeff Jolley joined pros Aaron Moreno and J.R. Shears at 70, while David Booth, Barry Cosner and Steve Jurgensen came in at 71.

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Article Courtesy of The Deseret News