The story of Tony Finau’s defiance of the odds and his six-time PGA Tour victory could be compared to the Hollywood blockbuster, “Blindside,” where Michael Oher transformed a passion for football into a scholarship at college and ultimately NFL success.
Finau won the Mexico Open by three strokes on Sunday at Vidanta, a golf club located near Banderas Bay and the Pacific Ocean in Mexico. Jon Rahm.
Finau stated, “He is the best in the world and he is on top of the game right now. I knew that I would have to fight him to the bitter end.” It’s funny how this game works, you don’t think you’ve won a tournament until it’s finished.
Finau, 33, joined Max Homa, Scotty Scheffler, and Rahm as the fourth multi-winners of this season.
Finau was runner-up to Rahm in this event last year, but the results were reversed this time. Finau’s 65-64-65 rounds in the first round gave him a two stroke lead going into the final.
Rahm shot a 10-under 61 in the third round, a tournament-record. He was aiming for his fifth victory of the year and his first title defence on the PGA Tour. He couldn’t get any lower, and posted a 4-under-67 in the final. The Spaniard was able to break the record for the most prize money in a single season — $14,462,840 – before the calendar turned to May.
Finau is the third oldest of eight children. He is Tongan. His younger brother Gipper, who was then 5 years old, became fascinated by Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters on TV. Ravena asked her husband to instruct the boys. Finau’s dad, Gary, had never swung golf clubs.
Gary, who was employed by Delta Air Lines as a cargo agent, borrowed instructional books and videos from the local library. Jack Nicklaus’ “Golf My Way”, his bible, was affixed to the garage walls in frame-by-frame pictures of Golden Bear’s swing. They shared an old 6-iron. Salvation Army sold sets of clubs. The boys in Utah smashed balls from carpet onto a mattress inside the garage of their family. Gary drove the brothers to the field after school when they were good enough to play on a regulation football course.
Gary remembered: “We would stop there so that they could see their friends playing Pop Warner football.” There must have been 400 to 500 of them. “Where are they?” I asked. They said, “Right here.” Then, we drove up to the course. When I asked, “Who is here?” they said, “Nobody.” I told them, “Exactly.” Boys, your chances of making it in golf are much better. No competition. Let’s go to practice.
Finau, with the help of his father’s love and dedication, became one of golf’s top players. In the last 19 month, he has won five times. Billy Horschel was with Finau for the first two rounds of the 2021 Northern Trust when Finau won his first tournament. Horschel said that Finau had never putted better than he did when they signed their scorecards.
“I have always said that he is a great putter outside of 10 feet. He’s also a great putter between 10-20 feet. He has great speed and a great imagination for how putts will break. But inside 10 feet, he is a completely different person. He looked so confident that week inside 10 feet. He seemed to be confident that he would make every shot. I told him: “You seem so confident, and you have to believe you are a great putter.” I was amazed to see another side to him. Did I believe he would win that week? No. I think that after that win, he has gained so much confidence and believes that he is a good putter. “I think Tony will have a special run in the next five to ten years.”
Finau won the Cadence Houston Open last November. However, his recent results didn’t reflect how well he played. Finau had been in the top 10 since winning, but he had only two top-10 finishes after that. He blamed his inconsistent putting, despite having his best short stick season of his career. It paid off that he worked hard at his putting at home last week. Finau was ranked eighth for Strokes Gained – Putting during the week. Brandon Wu, who had an eagle and a birdie on the sixth hole and seventh hole to temporarily tie for the lead, made three birdies during his first seven-hole run. He dropped a ball at No. He hit the water on No. The 10th placed third with a score of 68.
Wu stated, “I believe going toe-to-toe with the two best players in the World is a good thing.” It was good to feel the emotions and know how to remain calm in the moment. It was an amazing experience. I’m glad I did it.”
Wu was not the only youngster to gain valuable experience in the hunt for trophies. Akshay Bhattia, 21, earned special temporary Tour Membership with a second place finish at the Puerto Rico Open, in March. He played his way to the final group, and shot even-par 71, finishing fourth.
Finau’s 72-hole score of 24 under 260, his fourth victory in 280 day was not enough to beat the defending champion.
