Former BYU golfer Mike Weir will carry the Utah banner at 2026 Masters as Tony Finau fails to qualify
Tony Finau once called playing in the Masters a “holy spiritual experience,” but the former Utahn didn’t qualify to play in the event this year.
Mike Weir tees off on the sixth hole during the Par 3 contest at the Masters golf tournament on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, in Augusta, Ga. Weir will be back representing Utah — and BYU and Canada — at this year's Masters. | Charlie Riedel Fans of professional golfers with Utah ties will have only one local favorite to cheer for on Thursday when the 90th Masters Tournament begins at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
And it won’t be Tony Finau. For the first time since he made his Augusta debut in the 2018 Masters with a tie for 10th place, the 36-year-old Finau will not tee it up in what he has referred to as his favorite golf major. The former Salt Lake City and Lehi resident failed to qualify because he is outside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings (he’s currently 111th) and has not won a PGA Tour event in the past year.
However, former BYU golfer Mike Weir is in the field of 91 players — the smallest field of any of the four majors — because as the 2003 Masters champion, the Canadian who still lives in Utah, has a lifetime exemption into the tournament. Weir, who mostly competes on the PGA Tour’s Champions Tour, is outside the top 300 in the OWGR and is not being given much of a chance to make the cut, let alone win the tournament. Weir, 55, who grew up in Brights Grove, Ontario, before playing for legendary coach Karl Tucker in Provo, is a huge long shot, according to USA Today.
The publication ranked all 91 golfers in the field and put Weir at T84 with another former champion, Angel Cabrera, and several others. Weir’s odds of winning are at 200,000 to 1, slightly better than the 300,000 to 1 odds being given to past champions Fred Couples and Vijay Singh. When will Mike Weir tee off Thursday?