Here’s the (very legit) reason why Utah native Tony Finau is skipping the inaugural Black Desert Championship

The Black Desert Championship will make its debut without one of its favorite sons.

With the PGA Tour headed to the Beehive State for the first time in more than 60 years, the organizers of the inaugural Black Desert Championship decided to trot out as many Utah natives as they could – from Tour members Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn to 65-year-old veteran Jay Don Blake, who is expected to make his fond farewell from the game after his 500th start. (Current BYU golfer Zac Jones and former Cougar stars Peter Kuest and Mike Weir, not long after his role as International Team captain at the Presidents Cup, also are representing in Ivins, Utah, as is 18-year-old Utahn Kihe Akina, who is making his Tour debut, and Dustin Volk, who qualified through the Utah PGA Section.)

But one local product is missing – world No. 24 and fan-favorite Tony Finau isn’t teeing it up this week. Even though his status for next season is locked up and he technically has nothing to gain (other than further lining his pockets, which added more than $5.7 million to date this year in official earnings), he’s a shoo-in to play a Tour event in his own backyard, no, and bring some much-needed star power to the brand-spanking new event?

The Thanksgiving Point All-Stars are headed to the PGA Jr. League 13-and-under championship.

Well, it turns out Finau has a legit excuse and he doesn’t need a doctor’s slip for it. Finau, 35, is the assistant coach for the PGA Junior League’s Thanksgiving Point All-Stars, which are competing in the 13-and-under division of the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship. Finau has a conflict with coaching duties – his 12-year-old son Jraice is a member of the team – and will be in Frisco, Texas at Fields Ranch West, Oct. 10-13.

“It was a tough decision but it really wasn’t a decision at all,” Finau told Golfweek at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago. “I’m committed to being a coach and I’ve got to help coach the team.”

2024 PGA Championship
Tony Finau reacts after a putt on the first green during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports)

The Thanksgiving Point All-Stars also include Nicklaus Miller, grandson of Hall of Famer and former NBC lead analyst Johnny Miller, who recently qualified for the National Finals of the Drive, Chip and Putt at Augusta National.

The Thanksgiving Point All-Stars took care of the Bend Bombers 1 All-Star Team, 11-1, in match play on Sept. 8 to advance to the finals in Frisco. Jraice Finau got the Utah team off to a fast start when he chipped in for eagle on the first hole. The team, led by Coach Tele Wightman, PGA, returns to the championship after finishing as runners-up in 2023. This hasn’t been fact-checked but going out on a limb to say there aren’t too many other Jr. League teams with a six-time Tour winner and member of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team who serves as an assistant coach.

So, the Black Desert Championship will make its debut without one of its favorite sons but the tournament is signed up for the next four years. Hopefully, Finau will be able to bring his many talents to the lone pro event in his home state before too long.

What’s next in golf? We breakdown what to look forward to this fall

There is still plenty of golf to keep fans entertained.

The PGA Tour season, the meat of the PGA Tour season at least, is over. Golf fans have already suffered through a week without any PGA Tour event at all, and some have to be asking just what is left to keep their attention after the four major championships on the men’s tour and the FedEx Cup playoffs are in the rearview mirror.

While the old adage that the PGA Tour never seems to end isn’t quite true anymore, there is still plenty of golf to keep fans entertained. For some fans, they will shift their attention to college football and the NFL on weekends, while sneaking in some golf viewing here and there.

Don’t be convinced that what happens between now and what should be two Tiger Woods appearances in December is golf that doesn’t mean a thing, though.

For instance:

The Fall Series

J.J. Spaun of the United States plays his shot from the 15th tee during the second round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 13, 2024, in Napa, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

This week’s Procore Championship is in Napa is the only official PGA Tour event played in September this year. But there are seven more PGA Tour events through November, and while they aren’t major championships, they are important events. Golfers trying to get to the top 125 on the money list to guarantee an exemption for the 2025 season need to play well in these closing events. No, the big stars of the tour won’t be in most of the events – former U.S. Open-winning Wyndham Clark is the biggest name in Napa – but one or two will pop up through the fall.

The Solheim Cup

2024 Solheim Cup
Carlota Ciganda of Team Europe plays her shot from the first tee during the Saturday Foursomes matches against Team United States during the second round of the Solheim Cup 2024 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club on September 14, 2024, in Gainesville, Virginia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

The United States hasn’t been very good in the Solheim Cup in recent years, losing in 2019 and 2021 and tying with Europe in 2023. That means the last U.S. victory in the matches came in 2017. Perhaps the Americans can turn that around this weekend with a team that seems stronger than the Europeans. Captain Stacy Lewis certainly would love to get her U.S. team back in the winner’s circle.

The Presidents Cup

The opposite of the Solheim Cup, the American men have dominated the Presidents Cup to an 11-1-1 overall record. But the International teams seem to be getting closer and closer, losing by three points or less in three of the last five matches. This time the event is in Montreal, with plenty of Canadians playing for the team and one, Mike Weir, as captain. That might provide the strongest motivation yet against captain Jim Furyk’s American team in the matches Sept. 26-29.

European golf

The DP World Tour has eight events remaining on its calendar after this week’s Irish Open, including the DP World Tour Championship in November in Dubai. Many of the top players in the world will be competing, including Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre. It could be a cavalry charge to the finish on the European Tour.

The LPGA

The Solheim Cup might be a highlight for the LPGA this year, but there are nine more official LPGA events on the schedule this year, concluding with the CME Group Tour Championship in November in Naples, Fla. In addition to the chase for player of the year – Nelly Korda should be able to claim that title this year – it might be the last time most golf fans see Lexi Thompson, who is leaving the tour as a full-time player at the end of this season.

The Epson Tour Championship

Played for the first time in the Coachella Valley at the Indian Wells Golf Resort, it might be easy to dismiss this as a championship on a tour few golf fans know anything about. But 15 LPGA cards for 2025 will be handed out at the end of this event, and the city of Indian Wells hopes that a strong showing of local fans might get the LPGA itself interested in returning to the desert. Tickets are cheap and the golf is pretty strong, so it might be worth a day to check out the rising stars of women’s golf.

Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at @larry_bohannan.

FedEx Cup Fall 2024: What to know about the PGA Tour’s fall schedule

The race is on for 2025 tour cards.

The race is on for 2025 tour cards.

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall series starts Thursday with the first of eight events. These will mostly serve as opportunities for those who didn’t make the top 70 in FedEx Cup points – and therefore didn’t qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs – to secure status for the 2025 season.

There is likely to be a drop in star power for many of these events but some big names will appear on the tee sheets over the next 11 weeks. For example, Sahith Theegala and Max Homa are in the renamed Procore Championship (formerly the Fortinet Championship) at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.

The fall tournaments have all the perks: a two-year PGA Tour exemption for winning (along with 500 FedEx Cup points). Also, winners get into the 2025 Sentry, the 2025 Players Championship and majors that reserve spots for Tour winners.

The top 70 from last year have 2025 status and spots 71 through 125 will be determined over the course of these eight fall events. Further, the players who finished 51st to 70th are still competing for spots in the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am and the 2025 Genesis Invitational, both signature events.

For those who finish 126th to 150th, they will have conditional status and can improve on that at PGA Tour Q School.

The eight FedEx Fall Series tournaments:

Dates Tournament
Sept. 12-15 Procore Championship
Oct. 3-6 Sanderson Farms Championship
Oct. 10-13 Black Desert Championship
Oct. 17-20 Shriners Children’s Open
Oct. 24-27 Zozo Championship
Nov. 7-10 World Wide Technology Championship
Nov. 14-17 Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Nov. 21-23 The RSM Classic

The 2025 Presidents Cup is Sept. 26-29.