There was a time, not that long ago, when all the deservedly nice things being said about Tony Finau came with an asterisk.
Why didn’t he win?
It’s the paradoxical burden carried by various good players who consistently put themselves in contention but rarely manage to pull off victories. There’s a standing list of the best players never to have won a major championship, a compliment of sorts for the glass-half-full set. And a version of that exists in the week-to-week world of the PGA Tour.
If Finau was not Exhibit A, he was on the short list of victory-challenged players, and he knew it.
Not anymore.
When Finau won the Northern Trust last summer, he did more than end a winless period that stretched more than five years since his victory in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. Winning the first FedEx Cup playoff event, Finau turned the questions into an answer.
Winning the 3M Open on Sunday, taking advantage of Scott Piercy’s colossal meltdown over the closing nine holes was the kind of thing elite-level players do. They can’t force the guy whom they are chasing to shoot 41 on the back nine, but Finau put himself in position should something strange happen.
Sometimes tournament wins fall to players. Being there to catch them is more than luck.
“All the wins mean a lot, but for sure after I won the Northern Trust, I knew I had a lot of confidence that I wasn’t going to have to wait another five years to get one. You earn them out here; that’s just how it is,” Finau said.
“My game is as good as it’s ever been in, really, all aspects. I expected myself to contend and win again this year, so to be able to do it this late in the season when you’re running out of tournaments and you put that type of expectation on yourself, it’s so satisfying. That’s what makes the game so great, so satisfying, when you get the job done because you know that it doesn’t happen very often, but this one’s very special.”
Finau always has been a brilliant ball-striker, generating enormous power with a swing in which his hands never get higher than his shoulders going back. It’s a move he developed naturally, and though it might not have a classic look, it’s the results that matter.
After struggling earlier this year, Finau changed his setup slightly going into the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and a window opened. Suddenly, he felt as if he could swing the club again rather than thinking about every little motion.
“I would say my ball-striking has been elite since that time,” Finau said.
“I didn’t know that I was the highest-ranked player in this field until pretty much on Wednesday when I read something, and I was favored to win. For some reason that just all of a sudden put some added expectation and pressure on myself.” – Tony Finau
He plays golf like an athlete not a technician, and it is what has elevated him, lifting him to 10 runner-up finishes in the past five years in addition to his three wins. The drawback has been putting, which doesn’t make Finau unique, but the difference between being a good putter and a great one is often defined by trophies won.
There is also a mindset, and Finau has been honest about getting over that mental hurdle.
He was the highest-ranked player (No. 17) in the field at the 3M Open, a distinction he’s rarely, if ever, had. Suddenly, Finau felt like the guy whom everyone was chasing.
“I didn’t know that I was the highest-ranked player in this field until pretty much on Wednesday when I read something, and I was favored to win. For some reason that just all of a sudden put some added expectation and pressure on myself,” Finau said.
“I knew I was playing well, but then it was like, oh, well, this is a crazy situation because if you win, everybody expected it. If you don’t win, well, he can’t win, right? I think that just added, for some reason, there was this added expectation.
“I know how golf is. That doesn’t mean anything. Everybody starts from scratch on hole one. But to be able to be the top-ranked player to play like I did, to win, breeds a lot of confidence for me. I know I have what it takes when I play well to win golf tournaments no matter what magnitude, but you still have to win them to keep that type of confidence.”
The father of five children, Finau had his family on-site Sunday for the first time to see him win. They were staying in an Airbnb home near the TPC Twin Cities golf course in Blaine, Minnesota. Finau practiced the lesson he learned from his father years ago: leave what happens on the golf course at the golf course.
“It’s an amazing feeling to walk off a green knowing you won the tournament and walk right into your family, your kids’ arms. It’s quite a special feeling,” Finau said.
“It’s something I’ve thought about and dreamed about for a long time. For that to come to fruition for me and my family today is pretty amazing.”