Finau Only Player Not To Birdie During Opening Round At Tour Championship

SALT LAKE CITY – For the second week in a row Tony Finau has struggled during the opening round. Finau shot a two-over-par round of 72 in the opening round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club and finds himself 13 shots off the pace.

World number one Scottie Scheffler concluded his opening round at 15-under following a three-hole closing stretch of consecutive birdies.

Finau began the day at four-under-par due to the handicapped starting system only used in the Tour Championship but concluded at two-under-par. Last week at the BMW Championship Finau finished his opening round six-over-par.

Finau was the only player in the entire field who failed to make a birdie throughout the opening day. On the 18th green, Finau pushed his 10-foot birdie attempt right of the hole to conclude a disappointing opening round.

Perseverance.
Unbelievable.
Fun.

Describing this season in one word 💭 pic.twitter.com/B3FcQ9btvm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2022

Finau’s Round Explained

Finau’s round included bogeys on the par 4 3rd and 7th holes to accompany 16 pars. It was not a terrible result for Finau, he just could not find the bottom of the cup with his flat stick.

Finau found 78% of greens in regulation and 64% of fairways but failed to capitalize on the greens as he concluded with -2.8 putting strokes gained. It was the second worst putting display of the day, only behind Corey Conners who holds the worst score in the field at four-over-par.

The golf course was playing slow and soft, adding to the pain of an over-par opening round. Shots that landed in the fairway failed to run out and players were seen throughout the entirety of the day attacking pins as the ball stuck on the greens.

The Leaderboard

Finau is in a share of 22nd with three rounds to play. Only 29 players entered the tournament following the withdrawal of Will Zalatoris earlier in the week due to a back injury. Viktor Hovland, Sahith Seegala, Max Homa, and Corey Conners are the only players in the field with a worse score than Finau, all four players began with a starting score of three of two under par.

The Tour Championship acts as the final event on the PGA Tour calendar every year. This year, the 29 players in the field will compete for the first-place prize of $18 million from a purse of $75 million. It is the largest purse and first place prize on the PGA Tour every season. Zalatoris, who withdrew prior to the tournament starting, will finish in 30th place and be rewarded a check of $500,000 for his efforts.