JERSEY CITY, N.J. – One thousand, nine-hundred and seventy-five days. That’s how long Tony Finau wandered the winless abyss. But to the 31-year-old with the boyish smile, it felt so much longer.
Between the 2016 Puerto Rico Open and Monday’s finish at the weather-plagued Northern Trust, Finau evolved into a solid Ryder Cup player, a perennial contender and one of the game’s preeminent dilemmas. In terms of raw talent, few have accomplished less with more in their careers, but in Finau’s defense, nothing has ever come easy.
It took longer than one would have expected to shed the yoke of the mini-tours and he’ll be the first to talk of the toil of the last five years.
“I’ve worked extremely hard, not only on my game – on my body, to put myself in these type of positions, and eventually I knew it was going to happen,” he said Monday at a soggy Liberty National. “It’s hard losing and it’s hard losing in front of the world. I’ve done it already a couple times this year; in playoffs it’s happened to me. That made me more hungry.”
Since his breakthrough in ’16, a theme quietly emerged. There were whispers in Tour circles, in hushed tones – Tony couldn’t close. It was unfair, prisoner-of-the-moment, hot-take nonsense, but after a half-decade the nonsense starts to become the narrative.
In more recent terms, this was evident in January at The American Express. He started the final round in Palm Springs, California tied for the lead and closed with a 68 to finish four shots behind champion Si Woo Kim. In the immediate aftermath, Finau sought out the silver lining.
“Usually when I walk off the 72nd hole I have a pretty good sense of how long it’s going to sting. I’m pretty encouraged right now,” he said. “I’ve been working on some things in my golf swing and I was able to hit a lot of good shots this week and so I know I’m heading in the right direction.”
He was close the following week at Torrey Pines, where he finished a distant runner-up, and again at the Genesis Invitational, where he lost a playoff to Max Homa. Again, Finau said all the right things, checked all the right boxes, clung to all the familiar cliches.
“I’m disappointed,” he conceded at Riveria. “But, man, I shot 64 today on a day where I needed to just get into the playoff. As I look back on the week, in the next couple days there’s going to be a lot to grow from.”
It was the classic competitive cat-and-mouse game – did he lose in Palm Springs and San Diego and Los Angeles, or was he beaten? In truth, it was probably a combination of both.
Finau: ‘I proved I have what it takes to win’
But as the dog days wore on, those opportunities became rare. He posted just two top-10 finishes between February and Monday on the Jersey shore, and when he began the final round at the final Northern Trust – the first playoff stop will relocate to the warmer climes of Memphis starting next year – he was two shots behind a seemingly unstoppable Jon Rahm.
With the weight of 1,975 days weighing on him at a Hurricane Henri-delayed playoff event, he defied every ounce of pressure Tour golf can offer and did what he hadn’t been able to for the last five years, five months.
He closed.
He birdied No. 12, eagled No. 13 and birdied the No. 14 – eight strokes in three holes to jockey with Jon Rahm for the lead. Playing in the group ahead, Finau completed a two-stroke swing with another birdie at the 16th hole, combined with Rahm’s bogey at No. 15, to take outright possession of the lead for the first time.
“I made a great birdie on 12 and I knew 13 was downwind and I was going to, with a good drive, I was going to have a look for eagle,” said Finau, who closed with a day’s best 65 for a 20-under total. “I didn’t want to shy away from that pin and I flushed it and then I was kind of on my way.”
For the player who had been questioned so many times it was his performance on the 18th hole, with the Hudson River looming right and non-native grass and manufactured mounds poised left, where he delivered – twice. First in regulation as he clung to a one-stroke lead with a perfect drive into the left-center of the fairway and again in overtime to beat Cameron Smith. There were no more distinctions – did he win the biggest event of his career, did Smith lose? – just a singular outcome after so many painful near-misses.
Here’s a look at the players who moved in and moved out in the FedExCup playoffs after the first event.
“I have an extreme belief in myself, and I have to. This game is hard as it is,” Finau explained. “These guys are so good as it is. If you can’t believe you can beat them, man, it’s just an uphill battle, and I just continue to believe.”
That belief was tested over the last five years; it had to be. No amount of self-confidence can sustain unnourished for that long.
At Liberty National, the athlete did his thing. The 6-foot-4 former high school basketball star was second in the field in driving distance, behind only major-champion-turned-long-drive-competitor Bryson DeChambeau. But this was a testament to Finau’s iron play (first in the field in proximity to the hole) and a sublime short game that delivered at the most crucial moment, when he missed the 72nd green and needed to convert a 6-footer for par.
It was, by any definition, a fearless performance at a crucial moment. Not only did the victory pad Finau’s position on the FedExCup postseason list, it also likely secured him a spot on captain Steve Stricker’s Ryder Cup team later this year – one way or the other.
But more importantly, it ended one of the game’s most inexplicable title droughts and quieted any whispers about Finau’s ability to close. On Monday those whispers turned to cheers – even with little on-course fanfare – for a truly clutch performance.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
