Strong Third Round Puts Tony Finau In Contention At Genesis Invitational

Feb 15, 2025, 5:34 PM | Updated: 5:37 pm

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 15: Tony Finau of the United States walks across the 18th hole during the third round of The Genesis Invitational 2025 at Torrey Pines Golf Course on February 15, 2025 in La Jolla, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

(Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

BY TANNER TRIPP

KSL Sports

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – After making the cut at The Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines yesterday, Utah native Tony Finau started the weekend with a strong third-round to move into the top 5 with ties in the tournament.

On Saturday, Finau jumped 20 spots up the leaderboard after shooting five under part to be surrounded by names like Ludvig Åberg and Patrick Cantlay heading into championship Sunday. Tony Finau will be partnered with Ludvig Åberg for Sunday’s round. Tee time is still TBD but the pair will be the second to last to tee off, right behind the leaders Patrick Rodgers (-8) and Denny McCarthy (-7).

Spectacular Front 9 Boosts Finau Up The Leaderboard

Tony started the day +1 after a great recovery in round two to make the cut, but moves had to be made if he was going to be in contention come Sunday.

RELATED: Tony Finau Makes Cut At Genesis Invitational Following Solid Second Round

Finau determined his weapon of choice early on Saturday morning as his short game would be a huge contributing factor to his success, but not necessarily from the green. Tony notched four birdies on the front 9 thanks to three chip-ins on the 3rd, 4th, and 8th holes.

THREE chip-ins on the front nine 😲@TonyFinauGolf is making the most of Moving Day @TheGenesisInv.

📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/y34qoDowCD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 15, 2025

Tony’s touch from around the green brought his overall score from +1 to -3 in just nine holes, but he wasn’t finished.

On the back nine, Finau posted two more birdies on both the par 5 13th and the par 3 16th before finishing his round with an unfortunate bogey on the 17th, but despite the late blemish on the scorecard, Tony did more than enough to have something to play for on championship Sunday.

Through three rounds, Tony Finau now leads the field in birdies with 15, and he has needed every one of them to recover from six bogies in the first round on Thursday.

Now, only four shots back of the lead, Finau will have a real shot to play well and win his first tournament of the year as things ramp up toward The Masters in April.

Tony is tied for the third-largest jump on the leaderboard with Sahith Theegala. The big surprise of the day was an uncharacteristically poor round from Scottie Scheffler who started the day in second place but dropped six spots after shooting a 76 thanks to three bogies and a double bogey.