DETROIT – With his big infectious grin, Tony Finau tried to downplay his recent good form. The winner of last week’s 3M Open said that it’s a different week, which technically it is, but before long he finally conceded what is becoming crystal clear: his game is dialed in at the moment.
“I was riding the high off of last week,” Finau said.
Was he ever. For the first time in his PGA Tour career – 728 stroke-play rounds – Finau hit all 18 greens in regulation en route to shooting an 8-under 64 at Detroit Golf Club to share the first-round lead among the early finishers at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
“I didn’t know that fact before today, that I haven’t hit all 18 greens, so to be able to do that here today is pretty cool,” he said.
Starting his round on No. 10, Finau opened with an 8-foot birdie to pick up where he left off last Sunday, shooting 67 in Blaine, Minnesota to erase a five-stroke deficit at the start of the final round and earn his third career Tour title. On Thursday, Finau toured his first nine in 31 and tacked on three more birdies coming home, including drilling a 4-iron from 250 yards at the par-5 seventh to 42 feet.
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“I had to get all of it to get it to the hole and hit it right in the middle of the green and was able to two-putt that to kind of keep the momentum up on a solid round,” Finau said.
One hole later, at the par 3, he drained a 41-foot birdie putt, his eighth circle on the card of the day. Finau’s bogey-free 64 was one stroke off the tournament course record. While he wasn’t aware of having never hit all 18 greens in a competitive round, he said he knew the course’s 18-hole scoring mark was on the line as he stood over a 20-foot birdie putt at the last.
“My last shot lacked a lot of conviction,” he said. “I wanted to at least get it to the hole, give it a shot.”
Rookie Taylor Pendrith birdied five holes in a seven-hole stretch on the front nine, starting at No. 1, and matched Finau’s score of 64. Pendrith, 31, is making just his third start since the Players Championship in March. He was sidelined with a fractured rib and then had to withdraw from the John Deere Classic earlier this month when he tested positive for COVID.
“When I’m healthy, I can compete with the best,” Pendrith said. “Other than the injury, it’s been a great rookie year so far and just nice to be back.”
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