Tony Finau sinks a putt at the Jazz home opener for a $1 million Pat McAfee donation

Tony Finau holed a long putt at the Utah Jazz home opener on Friday night, October 23, and Pat McAfee pledged $1 million to the Tony Finau Foundation because of it. Finau missed left on his first try and made the second, during a timeout midway through the first half at a sold-out Delta Center.

The putt was payback. Less than a week earlier, Jazz governor Ryan Smith and minority owner Ryan Sweeney put money into McAfee's "Kicking is Easy" segment on ESPN's College GameDay, where BYU student Carter Smith made a 33-yard field goal for the prize. With GameDay back in Utah for a second straight weekend, the Jazz turned it around on McAfee.

The team rolled out the Qualtrics putting green, where a fan normally putts for up to $8,500. This time the Jazz brought out Finau, a Utah native and six-time PGA Tour winner. After the putt dropped, McAfee walked over, shook his hand and accepted the challenge. KSL Sports' Ben Anderson was at the game and posted it as it happened.

A good night for a struggling putter

According to Golfweek, Finau has lost strokes to the field on the greens for four straight seasons, and his ball striking has slipped too. He has one top-30 finish in his last 15 starts, four top-25s all season, and he did not qualify for any of the four majors. His PGA Tour card is safe for next season because of his multi-win years in 2022 and 2023.

Earlier this month, before the Bank of Utah Championship, Finau said he had put a long, flat putter grip from Wisconsin-based Caliber Golf in the bag after missing the FedEx Cup playoffs. For him, the appeal is aim.

"It's not a round grip. It's literally perfectly flat, but everything, the way you put your hands on it, it all faces the exact same angle as the putter face," Finau said. "I thought that was a really cool thing, and I just think it's easier to aim."

The foundation that got the money says it works to help young people and their families develop their gifts through education, wellness and recreation, KSL reported.

For the home putting setup

Finau's grip change is all about lining up the hands with the face, and that's something you can work on at home. If you putt on a mat in your sim bay, check where the flat front of your grip points at address compared with your putter face before you worry about speed. Caliber Golf's grip is the one Finau is using if you want to try the same idea.