2021 Houston Open: Top 10 power rankings at Memorial Park

Tony Finau is the top-ranked player in the field and has experience at Memorial Park. He posted 69-69-68-71 to finish T-24th at the 2020 Houston Open. His stats were all about middle of the pack that week, though he did get up and down all three times out of the sand to co-lead the field in save percentage.

Finau has had a couple weeks to rest since his last start at the CJ Cup (T-45th). That should help him against a field filled with players who racked up air miles in recent weeks to Bermuda, Mexico and now Texas.

A storyline to watch in the 2021-22 PGA Tour season is if Finau can build off his second career win that came this summer in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

It had been five years since his first win, but I’d wager a large sum win No. 3 is coming much sooner than that.

He followed up his win at The Northern Trust with a T-15th at the BMW Championship and played well at the Ryder Cup for U.S.A.

Finau has a great short and overall game, but the first thing that stands out about his skill set is his length. A lot of fall season layouts are on the tighter side off the tee, but there’s room for Finau to bash it around at Memorial Park.

He ranked 36th on the PGA Tour last season in strokes gained off the tee and 20th in SG around the green.

Finau was in contention through 54 holes in Houston last season before falling back. Sound familiar? It’s a story we’ve seen a lot with him, but with the monkey off his back, one would think he will continue trending back toward the mean like he did at The Northern Trust and pick off some more wins.

The Houston Open is a great opportunity against one of the weaker fields he’ll see on his schedule.

“It’s a tricky golf course, no question. It’s got length, you’ve got to hit it in the fairway here to score,” Finau was transcribed by Tee Scripts in 2020.