Utah’s Mike Weir and Tony Finau make the cut at the Masters

At age 50, Sandy resident Mike Weir made the 36-hole cut in the Masters for the first time in six years. The only trouble with his strong finish Saturday morning is he almost knocked out another Utahn in the process.

West High School graduate Tony Finau also advanced to the last two rounds at Augusta National Golf Club, but only after agonizing until the end of the second round. That’s because when Weir birdied his 17th hole of the round (the par-5 No. 8), he bumped Finau and other players to a tie for 50th place. If a player such as Jordan Spieth or Rafa Cabrera Bello had made another birdie, that would have dropped Finau to T51, below the cut line.

As it turned out, Finau (69-75) remained tied for 50th and Weir (71-72) was tied for 43rd after 36 holes. The third round started later Saturday morning in Georgia; Weir and Finau each was assigned to the No. 10 tee to begin play.

The twist in the cut-line drama for the Utahns is they would haven’t had to worry so much, if not for a rule change this year. Masters officials eliminated the provision that any player within 10 strokes of the lead would advance. That’s due to the reduced daylight in November and the Sunday television schedule, not allowing for as many golfers to keep competing.

In any case, Weir delivered a clutch performance and Finau had to hang on Saturday morning as they completed their second rounds.

After Friday’s round was halted by darkness, Weir began Saturday’s round from the No. 1 fairway and birdied the hole. He made pars until No. 8, where an excellent approach shot gave him a short birdie putt. Weir had missed the Masters cut in 8 of the previous 9 years, while in his 40s. At 50, as a PGA Tour champions rookie, he was much more tournament-ready going into the 2020 event.

Finau began the morning with a 12-foot birdie attempt on the par-3 No. 12. He missed, beginning a trend of the day. He failed to capitalize on similar (or even closer) birdie opportunities on the next three holes, and bogeyed No. 17 from a greenside bunker. A par on No. 18, after he drove into the rough on the right side, enabled him to make the cut. Finau has played the weekend rounds in 16 of 19 major tournaments as a PGA Tour member.

This story will be updated.