All in the family 

The stories of PGA Tour golf pro Tony Finau and his brothers working for hours on their games are now a part of Utah folklore. As kids, they hit golf balls into a net their father installed in their Rose Park basement.  

If 10-year-old Inoke Finau keeps working hard, he might someday follow in his cousins’ footsteps according to his father, Bo. Inoke was at the IMG Academy Jr. World golf tournament in San Diego in July. 

“We’re representing the Finau’s there,” Bo Finau told the City Journals. “He’s really excited to have that honor.” 

The 10-year-old finished 30th out of hundreds in his age group category of 9-and-10-year-olds at Torrey Pines Golf Club in La Jolla, a San Diego suburb.  

Because Inoke (pronounced EE-NO-KAY) didn’t have a sponsor, a family friend at Golf The Round in South Salt Lake held a fundraiser there in June to help Inoke raise funds for his trip to California. 

“He's got where he was for the most part on his own initiative from what his dad has told me, not necessarily just because of his last name,” said one of the instructors at Golf The Round. “I've met him, super nice and humble kid.” 

Inoke’s all-around game has been earning the 10-year-old accolades and invitations to other tournaments, too. 

According to his father Bo, Inoke was asked to play in the Callaway Jr. World in Palm Desert in mid-July after his 30th place finish at the prestigious Jr. World at Torrey Pines. 

Since Inoke and his brother accompanied Tony’s younger brother almost three years ago to a tournament at Forest Dale Golf Course, the 10-year-old has been surprising people with his play. 

A tricky nine-hole right off the I-80 freeway formerly known as the Salt Lake Country Club, it probably doesn’t hurt that William Allen, Inoke’s great-grandfather on his mother Emma’s side, was once the President of the country club in the 1910s. 

“A lot of athletes … PGA … the NBA with Jabari Parker … his mom is a Finau … and more than a dozen NFL players,” said Bo with a laugh. “Genetics. We’re Polynesians, what more can I say?” 

Not Satisfied 

When the kids wanted to get serious about golf in Fall 2022, Bo Finau (pronounced FEE-NOW) and his wife Emma took them into Goodwill and bought a few hand-me-down clubs. For golf balls, Bo said he and the kids and other friends snagged ones that people hit into the brush at courses in addition to a few that were purchased at thrift stores. 

“That winter came and he got started,” said Bo, a two-sport college athlete who played basketball at San Jose State and football at Utah. “Went by Tony’s dad’s house in Lehi and worked on chipping, the most difficult thing to master according to him, in his basement.” 

According to Bo, Inoke and his brother also worked on the fundamentals of golf, how to grip a club, his mindset—just the simplest guidelines to train for, for muscle memory—every Friday and Saturday in Tony’s dad’s basement for four to six hours. 

In addition to that, Inoke would train in his own basement at the family home in Syracuse, hitting golf balls into a net that Bo installed. 

As the spring of 2023 neared, Inoke’s mom wanted to gauge where her kids were as golfers, and so she entered the two into a local circuit tournament that spring. Lo and behold, Inoke shot a 44 on a par-36 nine-hole course, rather remarkable given that it was his first tournament after having received instruction from Tony’s dad in Lehi all winter. 

“It was right around bogey golf, or just under,” said Bo. 

Inoke finished third or fourth according to Bo—and yet even at age 8 Inoke told his parents he wasn’t satisfied. After consulting with Tony’s dad, a plan was made to help Bo’s son. 

“The continual practice of chipping was needed,” said Bo. “He (Inoke) would go before school to a five-hole par-3 course called Snyder’s Bluff and play 15 to 20 holes through the end of spring and into the summer.” 

That summer, Inoke won his first tournament—at Forest Dale, back where it all began with his family a year earlier. 

That kickstarted a streak of victories for Inoke, in which he won every tournament he played, 6 tournaments in all. 

The highlights came at three courses, according to Bo. “His high was a 39 at Thanksgiving Point,” said Bo. “Then he shot a 36 at Bonneville, and a 33 at Round Valley in Morgan.”  

When Tony was caddying for his 8-year-old son Trace at a tournament Inoke was playing that fall of 2023, the PGA Tour pro noticed something. 

“He said Inoke was ‘scoring good with used golf balls,’ and offered to have me stop by his house in Eagle Mountain to get better ones,” said Bo. 

“Tony, sponsored by PING, was floored by the clubs and balls Inoke was using to win these tournaments.” 

Growth Spurt 

As Inoke’s game was growing, so was he. 

“In three years, he’s gone from 4-feet-4 to 5-foot-3,” said his dad. 

Today, the 10-year-old who is learning to speak Chinese, play piano and is more than willing to help around the family home has also been bumped up to the red tee at 18-hole courses, according to his dad, and has been playing 18 since 2024. 

“You know, he’s going through some of those growing pains like most kids that have a growth spurt,” said Bo. “But, he is beginning to grow into his body.” 

Inoke, who also enjoys gardening in his spare time, can now hit a golf ball anywhere from 250 to 285 yards—unheard of for most kids his age. 

“They’re even moving him behind the white tee,” added Bo. 

At his first 18-hole tournament in Bloomington, a St. George suburb, Inoke shot a 76, three strokes behind his teenaged cousin Kingston. 

“Inoke shot his best round ever at River Oaks in Sandy at age 9 in 2024,” said Bo. “A 63. In a span of one month, he went from an 84 at one course to that 63.” 

In Bloomington this past May, Inoke returned to the same course where he first played an 18-hole tourney—and shot a 72. 

Inoke’s goal, according to his father, is to shoot for scratch by the end of this year. 

It’s a long way from Georgia, where a 7-year-old Inoke and his family once lived. Tony was competing at a tournament in the FedEx Cup, the first time Inoke saw his cousin play. 

After one round Tony was playing at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, Inoke noted to his dad that it might be fun to try golf sometime after seeing something his cousin had. 

“It would be nice to have something like that,” he told his dad.  

In the meantime, Bo said as a family that they’re very grateful and would appreciate some help, but don’t want to assume anything from anyone and so Inoke will keep working hard on his game. 

“We’re taking things one swing at a time,” said Inoke’s dad. 

“Golf is very expensive, even at this level,” he added. “Having a sponsor would take a lot of the pressure off.”