SANDY, Utah -- Local phenom Gipper Finau is having quite a week at the Nationwide Tour’s Utah Energy Solutions Championship.

Consider for a moment that Finau’s week started at the Wingpointe Golf Club with a stellar 9-under-par 63 to earn low medalist honors at the Tour’s weekly qualifier -- gaining him entrance into this week’s $475,000 event.

“After a 63 you get motivated,” said Finau. “Everything just clicked.”

Finau wasn’t done, however, as he has posted 14 birdies during the first two days at Willow Creek Country Club and rounds of 73-67 to move to 4-under-par 140. Had it not been for a double bogey and a triple bogey during his opening nine holes on Thursday, he’d currently be making a serious challenge to the tournament leaders.

“I’ve had a triple and a double, so I’ve had to make a lot of birdies to make up for it,” said Finau, who is playing this week as an amateur. “I felt really comfortable on the range this morning and that carried over to the round. Then I birdied the first hole and that is what got me started.”

Not bad for a 16-year-old, huh? That’s right, Finau recently celebrated his 16th birthday all of 20 days ago, making him the youngest player in Nationwide Tour history to make a cut -- eclipsing the previous record by Sean Harlingten (16 years, 9 months, 13 days) at the 2003 Mark Christopher Charity Classic. The only player younger to make the cut at a PGA TOUR-sponsored event was Bob Panasik (15 years, 8 months, 20 days), who went on to a tie for 66th place finish at the 1957 Canadian Open.

Gipper Finau gets a hug from his mom. (Photo/Michael Romney)

“This is all really exciting right now,” said Finau, a junior at nearby Salt Lake City West High School. “I’m psyched about being the youngest to make a cut on the Tour. I know I have the game to compete out here. Now I’m going to go out and try and win this thing. Hopefully I’ll shoot lights out on the weekend.”

Shooting lights out isn’t foreign for Finau -- neither is achieving his goals at an early age. At the age of 5, he got his start playing golf after watching Tiger Woods on television. By his seventh birthday, he was already besting some adults and winning junior golf tournaments in the 10-and-under division. Then as a 15-year-old sophomore, Finau fired a final-round 66 to win the 2005 Utah High School State Championship.

Gipper isn’t the only accomplished golfer in the Finau family. His older brother, Tony, has also achieved a great amount of success at an early age. In fact, the elder Finau -- who will turn all of 17 years of age later this month -- recently won the Utah State Amateur Championship prior to the start of his senior season in high school.

“I think the success we have achieved is a testament to the quality of the junior golf program here in Utah,” said the younger Finau. “We have such a good junior golf program and we have both benefited as a result.”

Now that Finau has made the cut, he can turn his sights to more important events in a teenager’s busy life.

“Hopefully I’ll get my driver’s license soon,” he said.