Tony Finau looks to survive cut at weather-delayed Masters; Mike Weir further back

SALT LAKE CITY — Tony Finau finished a second round Friday at the Masters that isn't officially completed.

But the 33-year-old Utah golfer is all-but guaranteed to play on through the weekend at The Masters at Augusta National.

Finau had a run of four-straight bogeys on the front nine, but an eagle and two birdies on the back helped the Rose Park native move to 1-under-par 143 at The Masters, three shots below a cut line he's made in all six of his previous Masters attempts Friday in Augusta, Georgia.

The PGA Tour veteran ranked No. 13 worldwide was tied for 29th when play was suspended at Augusta National due to inclement weather that is likely to affect the remainder of the tournament.

"I think you try and just be prepared for any conditions," Finau said Wednesday before the tournament. "I think the greens are going to be pretty soft … We try to have an idea of what the conditions are going to be like, to be prepared for it. But I don't think you worry about it. It's just being properly prepared."

Finau was 2-over after nine holes in his second round, but rallied with birdies on the 10th and 15th holes and an eagle on the par-5 13th to go along with bogeys on Nos. 11, 14 and 18 to survive three shots ahead of the projected cutline when darkness fell.

Brooks Koepka led the pack, finishing his second round at 12-under 132. Jon Rahm was three shots back but only played nine holes, while Sam Bennett — the U.S. Amateur champion who recently concluded his fifth year at Texas A&M — carded back-to-back 68s to finish third.

Second-round play will resume Saturday at 6 a.m. MDT, but with weather forecasts calling for a 100% chance of rain while several players will try to finish as many as 27 holes on the day.

The weather has made play "pretty slow and soft," said Bennett, commenting on a conversation he had with defending champion Scottie Scheffler.

"I mean, Scottie was saying the greens were significantly slower than they have been in the past," he said. "I played a college tournament down in Florida last week and they were significantly faster than they are here. It's a soft golf course. The weather's getting cold. It's going to be a challenge no matter what."

Finau shot 3-under 69 in Thursday's opening round, a red number that proved pivotal in maintaining his streak of 10-straight cuts made.

After opening the round with a bogey, the 6-foot-4 long driver found his form with three front-nine bogeys before making the turn at 1-under with a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole.

The West High graduate pulled one back on the par-5 13th hole, and added another birdie two holes later en route to three birdies on the front nine. But a bogey on the par-4 seventh dropped Finau to 1-under to before rallying with a pair of low scores on the back for a 3-under 69, finishing four strokes off co-leaders Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka after the opening round.

Weir, the former BYU golfer from Canada who currently makes his home in Sandy, shot even-par 72 in the opening round and joked that he was the leader in the clubhouse after he was one of the first golfers to finish the opening round.

He finished the first round playing as a single after his Masters partner fell ill around the ninth hole, he said.

"I played really well — 72's a nice score; it could've been a really, really good score," Weir said. "I missed a few putts on the back nine, but outside of that, I played really well."

The Canadian shot 2-over 74 in Friday's second round to slip to 148, two shots over the projected cut. Others above the cut line include four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson and former U.S. Open champion and LIV Golf superstar Bryson Dechambeau.

Tiger Woods was 2-over, tied for 50th and right on the projected cut with seven holes to play.

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