Maybe that’s just another term for sports psychologist, but Finau didn’t say sports psychologist. He said process coach. And whatever this guy is doing for the long-hitting Utah tour pro, it seems to be paying some immediate dividends.
This is a downhill hole that’s not even 100 metres. And Finau barely put it off the back with a shot that his TrackMan registered as having 172mph ball speed and carrying 234 metres.
In the wake of Jon Rahm’s defection last week to LIV Golf, speculation had turned to other tour pros who might be next in jumping to the upstart circuit.
Jon Rahm’s exodus to LIV Golf has sparked rumours regarding who might follow the reigning Masters champ to the Saudi-backed circuit, with one European media outlet reporting Tony Finau as a potential mover.
For all the clamour of more co-ed professional golf, the co-sanctioned mixed-team tournament is a beta test for potential expansion into more events with between players on the LPGA and PGA Tour.
The Grant Thornton Invitational will debut this December at Tiburon Golf Club and the Ritz-Carlton Naples in Florida. The event will consist of 16 PGA Tour and 16 LPGA players competing for a $US4 million purse.
In an interview with TMZ last weekend, Finau was asked if there was any bad blood between him and the LIV Golf guys. No, Finau told them. In fact, some were his closest friends on tour.
Golf fans will certainly remember 2022 most for the emergence of LIV, but it may also go down as the year Tony Finau turned into a prolific winner. After needing more than five years to earn a second PGA Tour title, the 33-year-old has suddenly needed just 15 months to notch his next four.
Known for unleashing prodigious drivers, Finau instead was a fairway-finding machine in Texas, ranking fourth in driving accuracy, aided by hitting every fairway during the third round.
With back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, Tony Finau had started re-writing the narrative about his PGA Tour career, unwinding some of the commentary about being unable to close out titles when he’s got the chance.