Boyd Summerhays is back in the Masters, this time as the swing coach for Tony Finau and Yuxin Lin

Tony Finau stood in the middle of the 15^th fairway with a one-stroke lead on a Sunday afternoon in Indiana. In the summer of 2014, having made a big breakthrough in his pro golf career by qualifying for the Web.com Tour, Finau failed to follow through with his chance to win the tournament.

He hit a poor shot, bogeyed the par-5 hole and faded to a tie for fourth place. That’s the moment when Finau knew he needed some help with his golf swing. He soon arranged a meeting at Davis Park Golf Course with Farmington native Boyd Summerhays, a former PGA Tour player who was becoming established as a full-time teacher.

“One lesson at Davis turned into where we’re at now,” Finau said.

So they’re walking the fairways of Augusta National Golf Club, preparing for Finau’s Masters debut Thursday. Summerhays made it into the Masters as a coach last year, working with his brother Daniel. He has two students in the field this week — Finau and 17-year-old Yuxin Lin, a left-handed golfer from China who earned an invitation by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

“To come up the way we did together, it’s a pretty cool bond,” Summerhays said.

They’re 10 years apart, two former Utah junior golf prodigies who made the PGA Tour (among five Utah high school graduates who have done so in the past 30 years). Summerhays’ playing career was derailed by injuries, but he has reinvented himself. At 38, primarily working in Arizona while spending summers In Utah, he’s recognized as one of the country’s top young teachers.

Finau asking for help was significant. He had played his way to his level just short of the PGA Tour with a natural swing, having been taught mainly by his father, Kelepi, while growing up in Salt Lake City. Having signed an endorsement deal with Callaway Golf as teenagers, Finau and his brother Gipper once were sent to Florida to work with the renowned David Leadbetter. That didn’t go well.

“We were so raw and so athletic and just so different probably than anyone he’s ever taught,” said the 6-foot-4 Finau, a former West High School basketball player.

Summerhays was more adaptable, and they clicked right away. Summerhays marveled about his quickly Finau learned in that first session, telling people, “He’s beyond special.”

Finau’s talent and drive have enabled him to improve every year, an unusual achievement at the PGA Tour level. He’s No. 34 in the Official World Golf Ranking and pictures himself in the top 10 someday.

“He knows what he does well, but he’s willing to change things to get better,” Summerhays said. ”The best players in the world, the guys in the top 10, are extremely aggressive. I see that in him. I see a ton of Phil Mickelson in Tony. He’s not afraid of some risk.”

That trait will make Finau interesting to watch at Augusta National, known for its risk/reward opportunities on the back nine. In the bigger picture, Summerhays cited how Finau reverted to a conventional putting style in the middle of the FedEx Cup Playoffs in September, eventually helping him qualify for the Masters.

“It’s crazy to me how willing he is to try something different,” Summerhays said. “He wants to be great. … He’s a kid that really, really believes in himself.”