HOUSTON — Winning is hard. Tony Finau. Hes making it seem easy.
Finau took a four-shot lead in the Houston Open Sunday, but he extended it to eight shots on his back nine to win his third PGA Tour win of the year. Finau closed the tournament with a 1-under 69 to win by four, despite three bogeys that only reduced his margin.
Finau won just once in his first 185 tournaments since joining the PGA Tour. Finau has won four tournaments in his last 30 events, including three this calendar year.
Finau stated that he has always believed, but that confidence when winning is contagious. I am starting to put together an entire-package game.
It certainly did over four days at Memorial Park.
Finau won the round with a 62. He was ahead of the weather change and was great in his bogey-free round, which was 68. He was the only one who came close to him on Sunday.
He finished at 16 under 264 and began the new season with an win — moving up to No. After shaking off rust from last weeks missed cut at Mayakoba he is now 12th in the world ranking.
PGA Tour rookie Tyson AlexanderThe B-flight was won by Alexander, which was huge. Alexander won the B-flight with a 30-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole. He was the sole runner up. It was worth enough FedEx Cup points to ensure that he is eligible for the postseason next year.
Alexander stated, Great week for us. I wish Tony would take the week off.
Ben TaylorHe missed his 25-foot birdie shot on the 18th for 70 and finished third.
Finau stated that he was uncomfortable with such a large lead at rounds start, and he admitted that he had doubts about his ability to play.
Those didn’t last for very long. He made a 15-foot birdie putt on hole 2, and then quickly pulled away.
Finau made a 7-foot birdie on the fifth, and a 40-foot putt on par-5 eighth. Finau capped the front nine with a 20 foot birdie.
This gave him an eight-shot advantage, and it was then a matter of staying upright.
Finau stated, It was one those days that I fought and battled, and I made many nice putts to calm me. I have never been in this situation. I was nervous. Overall, I felt better throughout the round. I was happy to have the W today.
He didn’t make a birdie until the 10th hole. Then he dropped two more shots along his back nine from a bunker, followed by a long three-putt. Despite this, he never got any closer to the four-shot margin at end of round.
Alex NorenHad a 68 and tied fourth to move up to No. 45 in the world. To be eligible for a Masters invitation, he will need to remain in the top 50 by the end.
Masters champion Scottie SchefflerClosed with a 67, tied for ninth. To replace him, he needed a win. Rory McIlroyNo. No.
McIlroy will be playing in Dubai next week to close the European tour season. Scheffler will play next at the Hero World Challenge, a 20-man field offering world ranking points.
