PGA Tour golfer, Utah native Tony Finau announces Mammoth draft pick

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4Sports) — The first round of the NHL Draft took place Friday, and the Utah Mammoth had PGA Tour Golfer Tony Finau make their pick on national television.

Finau, who is on a two-week break from the tour to get some rest, is a big hockey fan, and he jumped at the chance to make the pick when the team asked him.

“Yeah. It was really cool. I was honored that they asked me to do it and kind of a monumental moment, I guess, you know, with it being the first pick as a Utah Mammoth and the team,” Finau said. “So, I mean, I’m a huge hockey fan now after watching some of the games this past season and cool to be able to make the pick.”

When asked if announcing an NHL draft pick was “on his bingo card,” he responded, “No. This is one of those things where it’s like not on your bucket list, but really cool that you can like kind of say that you did it. So, for sure was a was a cool moment for me.”

He said that the experience was not too far off from what he expected.

“This is pretty close to what I thought I was going to be, but it was awkward. Like I’m used to being in front of cameras and whether that’s playing or doing interviews and stuff like that,” he said. “But not having somebody asked me questions and then just having her like, OK, go. And then I just had to start talking. It was a new one for me that was different. And so, I was I was nervous for sure, but I think I did all right.”

Bill Armstrong, the general manager for the Mammoth, had some kind words to say about Finau.

“Tony did an incredible job at bringing it in. He was so natural on the mic. It was just it’s awesome. You know, homegrown, you know, talent such as him making the first pick. And he’s a big fan of ours, so it was kind of great just to kind of see him because he just loves hockey. So it was awesome to have him in here. He’s just a great human being. You know? And so that was he was the perfect guy to announce the pick.”