Paying It Forward

Last month, Mitchell Schow Monday-qualified for the Utah Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour in his home state. After the round, he fired off texts to family and friends informing them of his big news. He also sent a text to Tony Finau, a six-time PGA Tour winner. 

Schow is just one of many pros from Utah who consider Finau a massive influence in their career. 

Life as a tour professional can be expensive; in fact, finances are the most significant reason many dreamers pursue another career. No one knows that better than Finau, who grew up with six siblings in Rose Park, a rough area outside of Salt Lake City. Unable to afford much, Tony and his brother Gipper honed their golf skills in the family garage, hitting balls into an old mattress. 

Tony turned pro at the age of 17, after being entered into a $2 million putting contest in Las Vegas. A local businessman paid the $50,000 entry fee for both of the Finau brothers. Tony didn't win, but he made enough to pay back his sponsors and keep a little for himself. He used that money to embark on his pro career. 

The financial toll from spending years on mini-tours is something Finau is all too familiar with. It would take him eight years to make the PGA Tour. 

Now a couple of weeks shy of his 36th birthday, Finau has never forgotten where he came from and the tough times he endured. He became determined to help players chase their own dreams, and in 2015 the Tony Finau Foundation was started. Its primary goals are to support literacy, address basic needs, and provide mental health resources. 

Then in 2018, the foundation began to support professional golfers with strong ties to Utah. Candidates must be from or have attended college in the state. The first recipients were Patrick Fishburn, a Utah native who attended BYU, and Peter Kuest, who also attended BYU. 

Fishburn is a PGA Tour member and has played 50 career Tour events. He credits Finau for his help, which started when the pair played junior golf together. "I was 12 and played up an age group, and even back then Tony would help me," Fishburn told me. After turning pro, Fishburn received money from Finau's foundation. "Having financial help is such a huge advantage,” Fishburn said. “It was vital to my career." 

Fishburn received money from the foundation for four years, or until he had earned enough on the Korn Ferry Tour to become financially secure. Kuest echoed Fishburn's thoughts and said that if he ever needed financial help again, the foundation would be an option. He is quick to add, "I hope I never need it." 

And although the two are now competing against one another, Fishburn said he still leans on Finau as a mentor, both on and off the course. The BYU grad pointed out how unusual it is that an active PGA Tour member in the prime of his career is helping multiple pros chase their dream.

 Chelsea Fairbourn, executive director of the foundation, said the application process is straightforward. Players submit a cover letter, a resume and any letters of recommendation they want to include. From there, the board, along with Finau and some well-known figures in the Utah golf scene, selected the recipients. 

The accepted players are required to be in the program for a minimum of two years. They are given $30,000 to $45,000 for expenses per year.

There are no strings attached. Players don't have to pay back a dime; there are no stipulations on their playing schedule. They can use the money as they see fit. 

The foundation is now helping Schow, Connor Howe and Carson Lundell. Schow wonders where he would be if it weren't for the assistance. "I wouldn't be able to play Mondays for sure,” he said, “and I'm not sure where I would be if it wasn't for the Foundation's help."

As he continues his dream of making it as a tour professional, Schow, 28, finished well back at the Utah Championship, in a tie for 54th. But because of the resources the foundation provided, he was in the field.

He can thank Finau for that.

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