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It’s not that Tony Finau didn’t think he was never going to win again on the PGA Tour. It’s just that there were times when the near misses were deflating.
“I’ve always had that perseverance attitude to overcome,” Finau said of the now-disproved narrative that he didn’t know how to close out a victory on the PGA Tour. “I don’t know that I ever doubted that it wouldn’t happen, I would say. But I definitely was frustrated at certain points and disappointed, angry.”
After going more than five years between his first and second victories, a win he calls the hardest of his career, Finau has now silenced the critics and maybe some of the discussions he was having with himself. In the last six months, Finau has won three times and added three more top-10 finishes to establish himself as one of the top players on the tour.
“I think winning breeds confidence,” Finau said as he prepared for The American Express tournament that begins Thursday in La Quinta. “There’s no question. I feel that for the most part I’ve always been a pretty confident person. But winning breeds more confidence, I think. I think I just feel more comfortable with my game. My game’s as good as it’s been in my career.”
Going from the near misses and the playoff losses to a consistent winner on the Tour was never about Finau’s belief in himself. But with some improvements in his game, specifically driving the ball more accurately, and faith in his putting stats, Finau comes to tournaments like The American Express with a new approach about his play.
Boyd Summerhays, left, walks with Tony Finau as he begins a practice round at the 2023 American Express at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. (Photo by Taya Gray/Desert Sun)
Knowing how to win
“My game’s better, but I know how to prepare better and I know how to prepare to win, just having that experience over this last six, seven months, having done it multiple times over the last little bit,” Finau said. “My game is definitely better, but I know how to prepare to win I think more than I ever have before just because of the experiences that I’ve had winning over this last six months.”
Finau, an ambassador for American Express, has been a fixture in the La Quinta tournament the last three years. But even in those starts, the “he can’t close” narrative existed, especially when he had the lead in the 2021 tournament early in the final round but faded to a strong but…
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