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The American Express: Top 10 power rankings in California

By Mike Randleman

LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: A general view of the 18th hole during the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West on January 21, 2018 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA - JANUARY 21: A general view of the 18th hole during the final round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West on January 21, 2018 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 22: Tony Finau plays a shot from the fairway on the 10th hole during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West on January 22, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LA QUINTA, CA – JANUARY 22: Tony Finau plays a shot from the fairway on the 10th hole during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West on January 22, 2016 in La Quinta, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Pick a PGA Tour event out of a hat, and odds are Tony Finau’s earned a top 10 there. Likely multiple top-10s.

The American Express? Not so much.

He’s only made it out to PGA twice, and not since 2016. His trips netted a T-59 in 2015 (71-65-68-74) and a missed cut by one shot in 2016 (69-68-71) despite reaching 8-under.

Finau’s career trajectory has risen since those two appearances, making it likely his return to the Coachella Valley will be more fruitful. The 30-year-old posted eight top-10s in 2019, including a runner up at Colonial. He had three top-25s on the West Coast swing.

Buyer beware: Jet lag could be a factor for Finau, who finished fifth last week on the Asian Tour at the Hong Kong Open.

The case to be made this week for Finau is not only his consistency (four missed cuts per year since 2017) but his style of play.

This is a place where he can use his length to his advantage. Finau was ninth last season in driving distance (309.5) and 21st in strokes gained tee to green (.871). He’ll be able to take advantage of four par-5 opportunities per round, where he ranked 17th on Tour in scoring average (4.53).

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