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Judging by Tony Finau's consistent performance as a PGA Tour rookie last season, many golf observers figured he soon would win a tournament.

The only surprise is that his breakthrough victory came Sunday, following a slump during most of this calendar year.

The Salt Lake City-born Finau, 26, won the Puerto Rico Open in a playoff with veteran Steve Marino. He became the first Utah native in 25 years to claim a PGA Tour title, following Jay Don Blake's 1991 win in the San Diego event. Finau, a West High School graduate and Lehi resident, birdied the par-5 No. 18 all three times in the playoff, after missing a 6-foot birdie attempt in regulation.

"It was a putt that I kind of dreamed of making my whole life … so I was a little bit bummed," Finau said.

He regrouped in the playoff. "I knew I still didn't lose the tournament," he said. "I needed to refocus and get ready to play 18 again. That's what it takes out here … to win. And now that I have that feeling, it's pretty special."

Because the Puerto Rico Open is staged the same weekend as a World Golf Championships event, the winner does not earn the usual number of FedEx Cup points or a Masters invitation. But the victory is worth $540,000 and a two-year PGA Tour exemption. Finau won a Web.com Tour event in California in 2014, helping him reach the PGA Tour.

To honor his mother, Vena, who died in 2011, Finau likes to wear green (her favorite color) shirts in Sunday rounds. His recent problem was not getting to play on Sundays, missing the 36-hole cut in four straight tournaments, as he adjusted to new equipment after signing a Nike endorsement deal in January. His game turned around last weekend, when he shot a closing 67 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and he played solidly for four rounds in Puerto Rico with a 12-under-par total.

"Most players' confidence would have been shaken with the last few months of results, but he is very resilient and confident in himself and his abilities," Boyd Summerhays, Finau's coach, wrote in a text message to The Tribune. "He continued to trust in the technical and equipment changes he was going through and stayed patient throughout that process."

Finau's short game saved him, resulting in those three birdies on No. 18 at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club in Rio Grande, including a bunker shot to within 3 feet to secure the win. "Very impressive how he gutted it out in the playoff," said tour player Zac Blair, from Fremont High, citing "some awesome, super-clutch up and downs."

Prior to Sunday, Finau's best PGA Tour showing was a tie for seventh place (twice), although he had posted 29 top-25 finishes since becoming a tour member in October 2014. Blair missed a playoff by one stroke in Hawaii in January, finishing third. In 2013, Davis High product Daniel Summerhays lost in a playoff in an opposite-field event in Mississippi. The Associated Press contributed to this story. —

Storlyines

R Tony Finau becomes the first Utah native to win a PGA Tour event in 25 years.

• Finau scores three birdies on the par-5 18th hole in the playoff against veteran Steve Marino.

• The victory is worth $540,000 and a two-year PGA Tour exemption.