Tony Finau Secures Houston Open Victory
Nov 13, 2022, 3:04 PM
Tony Finau of the United States poses with the trophy and his wife Alayna and son Drace after putting in to win on the 18th hole during the final round of the Cadence Bank Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course on November 13, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Tony Finau has won the Houston Open by a comfortable four strokes following four rounds that culminated in a 16-under-par performance.
It was Finau’s third win in his previous seven PGA Tour starts.
Finau entered the final round with a four-shot lead over Ben Taylor and seven shots over the rest of the field. It was just the second time in seven attempts that Finau has capitalized on an overnight third-round lead.
“Winning breeds confidence, but I think also you have to make it happen and I was able to make it happen a couple weeks in a row last year with the lead, and I’m sitting on another lead, sleeping on another lead tonight,” Finau said on Saturday. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s going to be a challenge; it’s not easy to win on the PGA Tour. As easy as some guys make it look, it’s just not easy.”
Another one for the trophy case 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/X7ZT00pn5n
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 13, 2022
Masterful Second Round Set Up The Win
Finau set himself up prior to the weekend with a masterful second round that concluded at eight under par. Finau was not required to do anything out of the ordinary throughout the weekend. In fact, Finau’s third round concluded at two under par, and his final round at one under par. The tournament was won on Friday by Finau.
Interestingly, Finau stumbled down the back nine on Sunday as he finished the final nine holes at three over par. No birdies on the back nine, just three bogeys. Despite the difficult ending, Finau was under no stress. The next closest competitor, Tyson Alexander, ended the tournament in lone second place four shots shy of Finau at 12-under-par.
RELATED STORIES
Finau’s front nine on Sunday included four birdies and zero bogeys. An opening birdie on two, followed by birdies on five, eight, and nine.
The Houston Open victory signifies the third victory of Finau’s PGA Tour Career during the 2022 calendar year and the fifth victory of his career. It is also the first victory, in just his second start, of the 2022/23 PGA Tour season.
Winning, Winning, Winning
Finau’s debut win came in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open. His second in 2021 at The Northern Trust. In July, Finau managed to win consecutive tournaments at the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic and now Finau can add the Houston Open to his list of victories.
For his efforts, Finau took home $1.512 million from the $8.4 million purse. It is now the ninth consecutive season that Finau has made more than $1 million dollars on Tour and he has now increased his earnings to $33 million, jumping to 27th place on the all-time PGA Tour money list.
