Tony Finau’s ace came at the perfect time Friday afternoon.

The hole-in-one not only completely saved his round, but it ensured he’ll get to stick around for the weekend at the Valero Texas Open.

Finau landed his tee shot on the front edge of the 16th green late Friday and rolled it in perfectly for his third career ace on the PGA Tour. That sparked a massive celebration on the tee box at TPC San Antonio, where Finau launched his iron and then turned and threw his hat toward the crowd.

Though the hole-in-one was remarkable on its own, it’s when Finau sank it that made the difference. Finau was coming off three straight bogeys, which had pushed him to 2-over on the day and outside of the projected cut line, when he stepped up to the 199-yard par-3.

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The ace immediately brought him back to even par for the day and 3-under on the week. He then finished his round with back-to-back pars to post his 72, which had him safely inside the cut line.

Finau has won six times in his career on the PGA Tour, most recently at the 2023 Mexico Open. He’s missed three cuts in nine starts this season, though he has just one top-10 finish — which came in a T5 run at The Genesis Invitational. He entered this week at No. 33 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

A win for Finau this week is probably out of the question. After his 3-under 69 to start the week, he now trails leader Brian Harman by nine shots at the midway point of the event — which is the last Tour stop before the Masters next week at Augusta National. Harman built his massive lead with his 6-under 66 on Friday.

But Finau gets to finish his week after all. As he heads into what will be his eighth Masters start next week, that could make a significant difference at the first major championship of the year.