Tony Finau: I’m primed to go on a run

Villarta — Tony Finau finished the 2023 season with a flourish and has started the 2024 campaign on the right foot.

Finau looks to successfully defend his title at the Mexico Open at Villarta starting Thursday when he tees off at the par-71 Vidanta Vallarta. He won his sixth career PGA Tour title by defeating World No 3 Jon Rahm of Spain by three strokes in 2023, one year after finishing in a tie for second at the tournament.

The 34-year-old Finau has not missed a cut in five starts this season. He finished tied sixth at the Farmers Insurance Open on January 24-27 and tied 19th place at the Genesis Invitational last week.

The run started at the close of last season. After not finishing higher than 32nd in a stretch of six tournaments starting with the PGA Championship in May, Finau closed the 2022-23 season with three top-10 finishes over his last six events and a 20th spot at the Tour Championship.

“Yeah, I feel prepared. I’ve done some good work in the off season with my body just to be strong,” Finau said Tuesday. “This golf course yields some birdies and I can really swing the driver with some freedom out here as there’s a few holes that are pretty lenient as far as hitting areas, so I love that, being able to hit it hard and play this type of golf course. I do feel like I’m prime to go on a run starting this week.”

Finau expects to be a busy man, however. He told reporters on Tuesday that he will be playing competitive golf during the day and with his family on the par-3 course at night.

“I think we reserved a tee time there about 8 every night and we’ll be there with my boys playing pretty much every evening,” Finau said. “That’s definitely at the top of our list of things we enjoy here at Vidanta.”

Field Level Media