Tony Finau messed up my forecast for him, but he’s inching closer to it, draping himself in the spirit of it.
More correctly, that major win’s just been delayed a bit.
In January, I predicted that the pro golfer and Utah native would win a major tournament this year. What was actually meant was that the guy with the major ability would learn to win in a major way. And he has — majorly.
He’ll get his major, eventually. At 32, having made his fortune, he still has time and, lord knows, he has that talent. Everyone could and can see it. All he had to do was realize it.
And Finau has.
That much has been demonstrated in the last two PGA Tour events — the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic — as you know, both of which he won.
He achieved those victories in different ways, coming from behind in Minnesota and firing through at Detroit. Eeezy-peezy, or at least that’s the way he made it look. Over his eight rounds at those tournaments, he carded the sweetest grouping of numbers: 67, 68, 65, 67, 64, 66, 65, 66. He was 17-under and then 26-under.
His drives were powerful, his approaches pure, his putts precise.
His overall game was darn-near … perfect.
Sidling up next to that was Finau’s personality, which made the whole of it even better. In victory, he was humble, gracious, grateful and emotional. After the West High graduate hugged his wife, Alayna, who surprised him by flying in for the final round of the Rocket, Finau wept as he described into a CBS microphone the privilege it was for him to exemplify for his children that Dad’s sacrifice in spent time away from home and the hard work put in was paying off. Being a champion, he said, requires that, whether that champion wins or loses. He also got emotional when he was asked about honoring his mother, who was killed in a car accident a decade or so ago.
It’s hard not to root for a guy like Finau, who grew up the opposite of a country club kid, instead blasting shot after shot, until his strength was spent, into a mattress hung on the wall in the family’s garage on the west side of Salt Lake City. That, in part, is how he groomed his game.
Finau had won before on tour, but now, at last, through the span over the final 11 days of July, he made it a habit. Some curmudgeons ratchet down his accomplishment because it wasn’t done against the strongest fields of the 2022 season. Screw that. Those posted low numbers are notable, regardless.
Not sure with exactness what this means immediately moving forward. Nobody had won back-to-back events on the PGA Tour since 2019, so there’s that. If it means Finau is setting himself up for true greatness in the remaining years of his career, who doesn’t want to buy into that?
Two videos I watched of late centered on Finau. Maybe you saw them, too. One is of him rapping in fine rhythm to a remix of Teach Me How to Dougie while driving to the final round of the Canadian Open. At the moment, he was tied for the tournament lead, but looked anything but nervous.
The other featured Finau playing a par-3 hole in conjunction with a pro-am tournament a few years back, along with a young fan, name of Alex. Such setups can be promotional in nature and sometimes insincere. But Finau was about as genuine and cordial as a pro golfer could be, asking the kid for advice on where to place his shot, where to hit his putt, complimenting the young one on his form.
“That was a nice swing, man,” Finau told the boy off the tee. “I was impressed. That was great. There was a lot of pressure there. … Great job.”
“Whoa,” said Alex, after the putts had dropped. “This is amazing…. These five minutes have been the best five minutes of my life.”
Finau grinned.
The kid cried.
And the encounter ended in a hug.
In a time of selfishness and arrogance in sports, man, oh man, it’s encouraging and uplifting to know that professional athletes like Finau exist. If they win, terrific. If they make a habit of it, all the better.
Tony Finau, Utah’s own, will get that major some day. Maybe two. Maybe three. Golfing gods, we’re begging you, let it happen.
