American Express: Elusive Second Win Within Reach for Tony Finau

Tony Finau has had a very good career on the PGA Tour. He could elevate himself again if he’s able to close out a win on Sunday at the American Express.

The knock on Finau has been that, despite being a very good player on tour, he still only has one career win in 170 starts. Finau has been able to win more than $20 million during his career (although he is being sued for $16 million) with the help of six career runner-up finishes, three third-place showings and 41 Top 10s overall.

More from Pro Golf Now

Still, for a player of Finau’s level, to have just one win in six seasons on tour seems like he might be underachieving. The amazing thing is that Finau’s win came in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open. Since that time, he has made 108 starts without a win.

This week, Finau is looking to change that in California. He opened his week at the American Express with a 68 on Thursday. He followed that with a 66 on Friday, leaving him at 10-under par and in a tie for second place, just one shot behind 36-hole leader Sungjae Im.

Finau’s Saturday round did not start well. He opened with a bogey on the first hole, where he three-putted from about 40 feet. He was able to par the second and third holes to stay at 1-over on his round.

After that, with one notable exception, Finau was fantastic.

He birdied the fourth hole after sticking his tee shot about four feet from the cup. He birdied the fifth after knocking his third shot on the par five within seven feet. Suddenly, Finau went from 1-over par to 1-under par.

After a par on the sixth, Finau birdied the seventh hole. Then the eighth. His four birdies in five holes got him to 3-under par. He finished his front nine with a 3-under 33.

As he made the turn, Finau parred the 10th hole before a birdie on the 11th. He was 4-under for the first time on his round at that point.

Finau would par the 12th hole before suffering his worst hole of the day. On the par-3 13th hole, Finau hit his tee shot into the drink. It was a mistake that no one saw coming, and it cost him. After a drop, Finau’s third shot landed about 18 feet from the cup. He would need two putts to get down, suffering a double bogey in the process. He slipped back to 2-under par.

But the step back didn’t last long. Finau bounced right back with a birdie at the 14th hole. Then he birdied the 15th. He made up for his double bogey in two holes and was back to 4-under.

Brooks Koepka: 2021 FedEx Cup Contender or Pretender?. dark. Next

Finau was not done. He would birdie the par-5 16th hole to get to 5-under on the day and 15-under for the tournament. With that birdie, he was tied for the lead.

He would par the 17th and the 18th holes to finish his round. He will enter Sunday in a three-way tie for the lead with Max Homa and Si Woo Kim. And he will have a very realistic shot at that elusive second PGA Tour win.

Home/Golf News