Tony Finau Struggles, Again, Throughout Opening Round Of The Players Championship

SALT LAKE CITY – Tony Finau concluded the opening round of The Players Championship at 4-over-par and currently 10 shots off the pace with half the field yet to tee off due to a weather delay.

Finau, 32, began his morning off the 10th tee where he made par on the opening three holes. Disaster shortly struck on holes 13 and 14 when he made back-to-back bogeys to race down the leaderboard. Fortunately, he responded with his opening birdie of the tournament two holes later on the par 5 16th to bring him back to just one-over-par but a closing front-nine bogey on the dangerous par 4 18th had Finau making the turn at two-over-par.

Sadly, the back nine was just as troubling as the front nine for Finau. A bogey on the par 5 2nd, a double bogey on 6, and a closing birdie on the par 3 8th concluded the opening round at 4-over-par.

+4 today for Finau💀💀💀

— Tony Finau Tracker (@tracker_tony) March 10, 2022

Midway through Finau’s round weather disrupted play and a 4 hour and 15-minute rain delay suspended play as players were ushered back to the clubhouse.

Due to the delay in play, a majority of the field is yet to tee off and Friday’s schedule has been reshuffled to allow for a smoother transition from the first to the second round. The PGA Tour is yet to announce the updated tee-off times.

Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood leads the field at six-under-par while Kramer Hickok and Keith Mitchell sit one shot back in second place at five-under-par.

Finau has historically struggled at TPC Sawgrass. Last year he missed the cut, marking the third time in his career that he has done so. The Pete Dye layout demands pinpoint accuracy off the tee and into the greens. This season, Finau has struggled mightily to find the fairway.