Long and straight off the tee is helpful. So is on-target play with your irons. Putting well is nice, too. Combine a couple of those things and you can be successful on the PGA Tour. Do them all well during a tournament and you’re Tony Finau winning the Mexico Open at Vidanta by three shots over Jon Rahm.
Finau ranked second in strokes gained/off the tee, picking up more than five strokes on the field at Vidanta Vallarta. Of course when you’re crushing it an average of 301 metres (329 yards) while hitting 76.9 percent of your fairways (ranked 11th in accuracy) that usually plays.
Finau’s driver is Ping’s G425 LST, the low-spin version of the G425 family. Although the stated loft is 9 degrees, Finau uses the big minus position on the adjustable hosel to bring it down to 7 degrees. The Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX shaft is tipped 1.5 inches, and the driver has a swingweight of D-7.
Coming into the greens, Finau ranked sixth in strokes gained, garnering 6.223 shots on the field while ranking sixth in greens in regulation with his Ping Blueprint irons (he also has a Nike Vapor Pro 3-iron) with Nippon Modus 3 Tour 120 TX shafts and custom Lamkin UTX midsize grips.
Finau’s touch on the greens was solid as well as he ranked eighth in strokes gained/putting, picking up nearly five shots on the field. On the final day Finau made two 12-footers for birdies during the first five holes to stretch his lead and then a key 17-footer after a poor bunker shot at the eighth to save par and keep the momentum going.
The putter Finau used in Mexico is a Ping PLD Anser 2D, a wide-body blade at 37 inches in length and 3.5 degrees of loft. The putter has a drawn-on arrow in the heel area that Finau uses to assist his alignment.
Long and straight off the tee, on-target iron play and putting well. It added up to the most birdies in the field (27), the fewest bogeys (three) and his sixth PGA Tour victory.
What Tony Finau had in the bag at the 2023 Mexico Open:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 Dot
Driver: Ping G425 LST (Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX), 9 degrees
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond, 14 degrees
Irons (3): Nike Vapor Fly Pro; (4-PW): Ping Blueprint
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 (50, 56 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM9 WedgeWorks (60 degrees)
Putter: Ping PLD Anser 2
