A winning feeling so nice, he had to do it twice (in two weeks!)
On Sunday in Detroit, Tony Finau shot a final-round 67 to clinch victory the Rocket Mortgage Classic, his second PGA Tour win in the last seven days. Finau, who finished 26-under, became the first winner in back-to-back weeks on the PGA Tour since Brendon Todd in 2019.
It was perhaps fitting for Finau, whose prolific career has been stunted by his struggles getting over the hump, to see his career victory total double in the span of just one week. Those around the sport have long predicted that the victories would come in bunches for the Ryder Cupper once he broke through. Prior to last week’s win at the 3M Open, Finau had recorded 50 career top-10 finishes — a gargantuan sum — to only two wins.
Tony Finau: "It means everything to me that my kids can watch me not only fail, but they watch me win as well. That's what it takes to be a champion." pic.twitter.com/zWN9BkBhgz
— Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) July 31, 2022
“It means everything to me that my kids can watch me not only fail, but they watch me win as well,” Finau told CBS in an emotional interview after the win. “That’s what it takes to be a champion.”
Finau toppled the field on Sunday with his ninth consecutive round in the 60s, nabbing six birdies to only a single bogey. Including Sunday’s final round, he has now played his last 9 rounds at 49-under, with 55 birdies to only six bogeys. Despite entering the day tied with his final-round playing partner Taylor Pendrith atop the leaderboard, the Utah native hardly looked bothered. After four pars to start the day, a birdie on the par-5 4th hole vaulted him into a two-stroke lead he never looked back from.
After playoff wins in the 2018 Puerto Rico Open and 2021 Northern Trust, Finau has won his last two starts by a combined eight strokes, finally tapping into the preternatural ballstriking abilities that have made him a fixture atop the Official World Golf Ranking since he turned pro in 2015.
For Finau, though, how he won is ostensibly less important than the fact he won. After waking up on the morning of July 24 with only two professional wins, Finau has doubled that number to four … before August 1. Next up, the PGA Tour heads to Greensboro for the final event of the 2022 FedEx Cup regular season, the Wyndham Championship.
