Tony Finau Turns Out Frustration At The British Open


Tony Finau hit 66 (-4) at the British Open on Friday and found himself in familiar territory. He was once again a contender for a major golf championship, and he knew people would wonder if he would end up with another near miss.

The sport’s greatest trophies are the four major titles, and Finau has come close to winning each of them over the past three years: third place at the 2019 British Open, fourth place at last year’s PGA Championship, and a draw for fifth place. He played with Tiger Woods when he won the 2019 Masters and finished fifth at the 2018 US Open.

The 31-year-old Finau has been in the top 10 a total of 10 times. However, the absence of a win did not lessen Finau’s temper.

One of the few golfers of color on the PGA Tour – Finau, who grew up in Utah and is of Tongan and Samoan descent – is a popular presence at fan tournaments and in the players’ locker room.

Tall and athletic and with an easy smile, Finau burst out on extraordinary rides that wowed crowds for years before Bryson DeChambeau set a new, unreasonable standard for driving distance.

However, Finau’s prowess in golf is more than just strength, as he showcased Friday with dexterous pitches and inventive iron play, which led to a six-bird score under four points in two rounds that vaulted him on the leaderboard. He finished 17th, seven strokes behind leader Louis Oosthuizen.

Royal St. in southern England. George’s beach, Finau has experience staying on the hunt and apparently game. He finished ninth at the 2018 British Open and 18th at the event five years ago.

“I love link golf,” said Finau, the world’s 17th-ranked men’s golfer, after Friday’s round. “I wish I could play more often. It takes a lot of creativity.”

But Finau is well aware that fans and the golf media will judge him by when he’s not in the top spot in a major tournament. Has one PGA Tour victory, Puerto Rico Open in 2016.

Finau’s view of these results differs from most. He remembers his 14 years as a golf pro, seeing half of it as a challenge and the other half as a rewarding achievement.

Raised on municipal golf courses, Finau turned down college basketball scholarships at the age of 17 to turn pro in golf. Seven years later, he finally earned a spot on the PGA Tour. This spring, after finishing second in the Genesis Invitational and sharing second place in the Farmers Insurance Open, Finau was asked if these results were some of the hardest he’s ever endured.

He shook his head.

“I played mini rounds of golf for seven years, and I know how it tastes when you don’t even have a place to play and you don’t make any money,” he said. “It’s tough to be second on the PGA Tour, but not when you compare that to what life outside of the PGA Tour is really like.”

Finau added: “People think a lot about me not winning. People want me to win and expect me to win, and that’s great. That’s life and it’s made me tougher. I want to win too. But to do that, I have to keep putting my name on the top, cut the noise and I have to play as well as I can every time I’m there.”

He planned to similarly approach the final rounds of the Open this weekend.

“I always look at my life and my game with the glass half full,” Finau said, and his attitude has undoubtedly increased from the more than $23 million he has earned as a professional golfer. “I feel like I’m getting used to being in the spotlight day by day and constantly playing well in situations like these. Life is a great teacher.

“I’ve had a lot of close calls in major championships. It would be extremely special to be able to finally close one and make it the champion golfer of the year in the Open Championship. ”



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *