After reading that he was the bookmakers’ favorite to win the 3M Open, Tony Finau felt the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
For his third victory on the PGA Tour, he used the strategy of catching up.
Sunday’s final round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities saw Finau shoot a 4-under 67, erasing a five-stroke deficit with just 11 holes remaining, as Scott Piercy slipped out of the lead.
“When you’re running out of tournaments and you put that kind of expectation on yourself, it’s incredibly wonderful to be able to do it this late in the season,” Finau, who finished at 17-under 267, said.
Sungjae Im (68) and Emiliano Grillo (71), both from Argentina, finished in second place. Piercy shot a 76 to tie for fourth place, four strokes back, after shooting a tournament record 54-hole score. James Hahn shot a 65 to join Piercy and Tom Hoge (both 70) at 13 under par in the final round of the tournament.
A triple-bogey on No. 14 allowed Finau, who was playing in the preceding trio, to seize control of the tournament. At age 32, Finau recorded the largest winning rally in four editions of this event. Piercy graciously greeted Finau outside the scoring tent.
According to Finau, who previously won the tournament in 2016 and 2021, “I’m about as excellent an illustration as any of how difficult it is to seal the deal.” He has ten second-place results and three third-place finishes. “”It’s great to acquire the respect of the players you’re playing against whenever you win one.”
Naturally, his wife and five children provided the most assistance. They accompanied him from the tee to the green, staying in a nearby rental house with him. To get his mind off his swing, Finau enjoyed fishing outings and family feasts.
As a husband, Finau proudly declared. “In other words, I’m a father. I’m a buddy of theirs. “I try to have fun with them,” she says.
As a result, Finau has moved up to the 17th spot in the FedEx Cup standings, where he finished third at the 3M Open in 2020. He came into the week with a world number 17 ranking.
To cement his lead, Finau holed a 31-foot birdie putt on the 15th green. The 6-foot-4-inch Brit strode the course in his trademark white hat and aqua-striped polo.
When Finau hit No. 17, it was clear that this was his day. In the rough, his tee shot clanged against the grandstand and rolled only feet from the sea. His tee shot clanged off the green. A perfectly timed chip landed within a foot of the hole, and he smiled slightly as he playfully gripped his hand on his chest as though the sequence gave him heart pain, making the par 3.
Finau faced his toughest test yet on the par-5 18th, when he discovered water off the tee. A 3-footer for bogey from Finau, who had Piercy watching from the fairway, sealed it. While pumping his fist numerous times and removing the hat from his head, he moved away to hug his family one last time.
First-round leader Piercy scored a 65 on Thursday and a 64 on Friday to take a three-shot advantage into the weekend. After a 612-hour rain delay and a painful heel blister on Saturday, he extended his advantage to four strokes.
He had no idea what he was getting himself into on Sunday. After six holes, he had a score of 20-under. Piercy was in serious trouble less than an hour later. On his final 11 holes, he recorded seven bogeys compared to just three in the first 61. Included in that was the 7 he submitted for No. 14.
To make matters worse, Piercy ended up in a fairway bunker after hitting his first shot. Instead of a cautious play to the right, he chose a daring last-ditch approach from the bunker to try and get his round back on track. Piercy then swung into the rough after the drop. The second time he tried, he came up just short by three inches.
Piercy had a three-round lead in this tournament for the fourth time in six attempts, but he still couldn’t win it.
On top of his triple bogey on No. 7, Argentine Grillo, who tied for second at the John Deer Classic three weeks ago, shot an even-par 7. This week’s tally of 303 balls in the water was the highest of the season.
“Grillo blasted Tony for “making it difficult for everyone” by pressing the gas pedal all the way down.