PGA Tour: Tony Finau falters late on Saturday at Memorial Tournament

Through 47 holes, Tony Finau was in control of the Memorial Tournament. Now, on Sunday, he’ll be trying to bounce back at the PGA Tour stop in Ohio

Tony Finau is a very accomplished player on the PGA Tour. And his week at the Memorial Tournament started off very well.

Finau entered Saturday’s round tied with Ryan Palmer for the lead at 9-under par through 36 holes. He had been steady the first two days, shooting a sparkling 66 on Thursday, followed by a solid 69 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on Friday.

More from Pro Golf Now

On Saturday, Finau had a solid, unspectacular front nine, but it was enough to keep him in the lead. The Utah native opened with three consecutive pars before making a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole, moving him to one under. After that, he made five straight pars, closing out his front-nine round of 1-under par 35.

Finau appeared to be getting things going as his back nine started. On the par-4 10th hole, Finau hit his approach shot to 50 feet, then rolled in the long birdie putt to get to 2-under par on the day. He carried that momentum to the par-5 11th hole, where he made a birdie to move to 3-under on the day and 12-under for the tournament.

It seemed that Finau was ready to take control of the event. Instead, he did exactly the opposite, starting on the par-3 12th hole

The good news for Finau on the 12th hole was that he didn’t hit the ball in the water. The bad news was that he hit his tee shot into the rough and was unable to get out of the rough with his second shot. His third shot did make it out of the rough and onto the green, but he still had 10 feet left for bogey. He missed that putt and took a double bogey on the hole, slipping back to 10-under for the tournament.

But the bad back nine did not end there for Finau. After a par on the 13th hole, Finau decided to try to drive the short par-4 14th hole. However, his drive faded to the right, hit a bank and kicked into the water hazard down the right side of the hole. After taking his drop, Finau pitched to about eight feet from the hole, giving himself a chance for par. But his putt missed and he unnecessarily dropped a shot on what should be an easy hole.

Finau appeared to get back on track on the par-5 15th hole, rolling in a five-foot putt for birdie to get back to 1-under par on his round.

While Jon Rahm had taken the lead with four straight birdies, Finau was just trying to hang on until the end of his round. Finau was able to par the 16th hole before disaster struck again on the 17th.

On that 17th hole, Finau’s drive went into the right rough, where he had to pitch out. His third shot went into a greenside bunker. His shot from the trap went into the rough, meaning he laid four and was still not on the green.

Next. Best Golfer from each state: Ohio Golf and Jack Nicklaus. dark

Finau pitched to within four feet with his fifth shot and made his putt for six. The double bogey dropped him to 1-over for the day, which is where he would finish.

As Finau starts his round on Sunday, he will find himself trailing Rahm by four shots. It easily could have been much less than that. In fact, Finau could easily be in the lead if not for a horrible last seven holes on Saturday.

Home/Golf News