Finau's Top 10 Record

Haha. True.
Its weird, we see this all world talent with explosive distance and there is a level of expectation. If he rarely fared well, not much would be said, see Cam Champ. Yet he is always so close, you just expect him to break through.

There is something to be said for expectations. The tour is filled with guys who can win on any given week, but until they do, they are just that, tour guys. Players like Finau who constantly positions himself at the top of the leaderboard after a solid three days only to fall short should be scrutinized, but I don't like the "choke" or any of those negative comments that comes with it. We know winning on tour is hard and take a little luck to go along with the skill.

CHIII is a perfect example. He isn't considered to win week in and week out, but when he does the story is a positive "finally broke through after years on the tour". All the while all the dude does is make cuts and cash checks.
 
I think he may play a bit too conservatively on Sunday. For Finau on that course 68 was pretty much even par. While he didn't play poorly I wouldn't say he played well (for him) on Sunday. I also think his putting gets a bit shaky on the weekends. They were talking about him changing his putting grip before the tournament. I can tell you from experience that swapping around your putting grip isn't a sign of confidence in your putting
 
Just bad timing that someone is always playing better when he does well. I'm sure he wants to win badly, but he won't ever complain about the career he has.
 
Every time I see this subject pop up, I wince a bit because I know that there will be comments about how Tony “chokes” and “can’t win under the big lights” and “doesn’t have the killer instinct” from people who maybe just view him as a golfer without considering he journey to even be on the tour. I get that once you are a professional athlete, criticism is fair game. And I am not saying someone has to be a Finau expert to have an opinion. But his story does provide a bit of context.

There is a chapter in Marty Smith’s book Never Settle that does a good job of giving his story. I won’t go through it all now but it talks about the loss of his mother, his struggle to even get his tour card, especially when he had his first kid, and how he was disadvantaged as a young golfer in Utah. The guy is just about as blue collar as they come, and the fact that he has found consistent success on tour is simply remarkable.

The margin for error at that top level is so, so small. I hope he puts it together one Sunday and we get to see him hold a trophy. But even if he doesn’t, I still like the guy and admire what he has done personally and professionally to get to this point. My opinion isn’t that he doesn’t have the will to win, but that he sees it as having already won by just being on tour and in top 10’s, and he just plays consistent golf as best he can, and the results fall as they will. So I guess that is to say that I don’t think he has that “next gear” like Tiger, but then again, I’m not sure Tiger would either if his life path was the same as Tony’s.
 
I think there is more of a "why can't he break through" exactly because he is a nice guy. Everyone roots for him to close the deal. And because everyone roots for him and he has the raw talent to win, there's more awareness to when he doesn't. The stigma has taken a life of its own. There have been plenty of other 'journeyman' pga tour players that were good enough to get to the show but not excel in it. You don't hear about them because they don't spark the public interest as much as Finau. Especially because of his background, how he got to the tour, his uniqueness in a lot of ways.

Will he win? I think he will but it will be more of a fluke then a hard charging Finau taking it. Something like he's 8 strokes ahead going into the final round and won by 1 kind of thing. Its not that he doesn't want to win, but some guys just don't have that killer instinct, that focused intensity it takes to gain that last couple of hundreths of a percent to overcome others who are laser focused.
 
He just doesn't seem to have the killer instinct on Sundays. Yesterday was a perfect example. Was tied or 1 back after 10 and promptly dumps it in the water on 11 on a par 5, and then misses a 3 footer, and that was that. Yes the guys at the top played fantastic, but why is he never the guy to do it? After so many chances, its not just "luck" anymore.
 
Every time I see this subject pop up, I wince a bit because I know that there will be comments about how Tony “chokes” and “can’t win under the big lights” and “doesn’t have the killer instinct” from people who maybe just view him as a golfer without considering he journey to even be on the tour. I get that once you are a professional athlete, criticism is fair game. And I am not saying someone has to be a Finau expert to have an opinion. But his story does provide a bit of context.

There is a chapter in Marty Smith’s book Never Settle that does a good job of giving his story. I won’t go through it all now but it talks about the loss of his mother, his struggle to even get his tour card, especially when he had his first kid, and how he was disadvantaged as a young golfer in Utah. The guy is just about as blue collar as they come, and the fact that he has found consistent success on tour is simply remarkable.

The margin for error at that top level is so, so small. I hope he puts it together one Sunday and we get to see him hold a trophy. But even if he doesn’t, I still like the guy and admire what he has done personally and professionally to get to this point. My opinion isn’t that he doesn’t have the will to win, but that he sees it as having already won by just being on tour and in top 10’s, and he just plays consistent golf as best he can, and the results fall as they will. So I guess that is to say that I don’t think he has that “next gear” like Tiger, but then again, I’m not sure Tiger would either if his life path was the same as Tony’s.
What you say about his backstory is absolutely true. It is remarkable. He is an absolutely wonderful young man.

However, the same backstory applies to other athletes, particularly NBA stars. Damian Lillard and even LeBron come to mind. LeBron’s mother was an absolute mess and he had no father in his life. I was with my own eyes what a guiding force his father was in his life in in the life of his brother. There also was other family support.

Tony’s brother, Gipper, was actually projected to be the better player early on, but did not develop ultimately like Tony. I don’t see it as some character flaw that Gipper never made it on tour. I don’t see it as anything to criticize that Tony seems to be one step away from winning. Whether he is extremely unlucky, his demeanor does not quite let him go grab the brass ring, or there is something else about his strategical approach on Sundays, he simply isn’t quite there. I am not sure it is because of the mountain he had to climb to arrive at where he is. It would be so fun to see him break through and, if he did, it would shatter that ceiling that he seems to be bumping up against.
 
He just doesn't seem to have the killer instinct on Sundays. Yesterday was a perfect example. Was tied or 1 back after 10 and promptly dumps it in the water on 11 on a par 5, and then misses a 3 footer, and that was that. Yes the guys at the top played fantastic, but why is he never the guy to do it? After so many chances, its not just "luck" anymore.
I agree that we have seen it enough that it is likely a mental barrier that he has to break through.
 
As Bobby Jones said "there's Thursday, Friday and Saturday golf then there is Sunday golf." Or something like that.
 
It's obviously been a story if you spend any time on social...

The repetition;
- 35th top 10 finish since 16/17
- Hasn't won in ages
- His win was one of those *** events

I agree that some guys don't have that extra gear. It's a special talent. That in mind, he shot a final round 68 today to go along with his 68, 66, 67 to finish solo 4th. He didn't shoot over par, he played well and simply had other guys play better (scores ahead of him on the day on the leaderboard were -8, -11, and -8).

What's the story? Guy can't catch a break? Guy doesn't have that special element? Guy is a hack? Golf twitter needs to relax?

This generation’s Chucky Three Stix it is what it is - he and his fam will lead a comfortable life.

Not a HOFer

The Utah guys are going to be sooooo pissed at me 😂
 
He is just not that talented as one would think. He is very consistent, but is not talented enough on the PGA stage to stand out.
 
Will Tony win before the statute in AK’s insurance policy expires and he returns in legendary fashion? Either way, it’s time to bring back this video.
 
Compact and powerful swing. Those 3-putts on 11 and 14 killed him. He should prevail this year.
 
What you say about his backstory is absolutely true. It is remarkable. He is an absolutely wonderful young man.

However, the same backstory applies to other athletes, particularly NBA stars. Damian Lillard and even LeBron come to mind. LeBron’s mother was an absolute mess and he had no father in his life. I was with my own eyes what a guiding force his father was in his life in in the life of his brother. There also was other family support.

Tony’s brother, Gipper, was actually projected to be the better player early on, but did not develop ultimately like Tony. I don’t see it as some character flaw that Gipper never made it on tour. I don’t see it as anything to criticize that Tony seems to be one step away from winning. Whether he is extremely unlucky, his demeanor does not quite let him go grab the brass ring, or there is something else about his strategical approach on Sundays, he simply isn’t quite there. I am not sure it is because of the mountain he had to climb to arrive at where he is. It would be so fun to see him break through and, if he did, it would shatter that ceiling that he seems to be bumping up against.
Totally agree. By no means is his story unique, but I would presume (perhaps incorrectly) that it is more unique in golf than in other sports because of access and cost. But I don’t know. The fact is, many people both public and private, professional and pedestrian, have strife in their life.

But I think, from my own experiences in life, that often times what seems like the horizon and goal for one person, especially like Finau, can be different than some else, like Tiger. I just wonder how some like Finau readjusts his goals and horizon when he makes the tour, as opposed to some like Tiger who never questioned whether he was going to make the tour. Tiger’s horizon was always to be the best, making the tour was a certainty in his mind.
 
Totally agree. By no means is his story unique, but I would presume (perhaps incorrectly) that it is more unique in golf than in other sports because of access and cost. But I don’t know. The fact is, many people both public and private, professional and pedestrian, have strife in their life.

But I think, from my own experiences in life, that often times what seems like the horizon and goal for one person, especially like Finau, can be different than some else, like Tiger. I just wonder how some like Finau readjusts his goals and horizon when he makes the tour, as opposed to some like Tiger who never questioned whether he was going to make the tour. Tiger’s horizon was always to be the best, making the tour was a certainty in his mind.
I guess it falls under the mental side of the game, but I have to wonder if there's a bit of impostor syndrome involved in it - especially considering his backstory. Not saying that as a knock on him because I really like the guy, but it's worth pondering.
 
I don't think there is a problem with him whatsoever. He is absolutely the BEST journeyman golfer on tour. Yes professional golf is a competition, but what we sometimes forget is that this is those athletes business. What he has is the making of a long term and successful career/business by not only making cuts, but placing that high consistently among the top people in the world playing golf. He is honestly great for the game.

Let's put it in prospective. Think of your job and what it would take you to be in the top 20% world wide. Now, make your job a private business where you're performance is the only way to make money for the business and out of that you have to foot the bill for every expense needed for you and your team to do your job. I think a lot of people forget that. This is an individual sport where there is no team management and you are just an employee. There is a TON more than just going out there playing golf.
 
Dude is a pioneer when it comes to islanders. Polynesians are mostly known for being football players and a lot even play baseball. Golf, isn't the biggest sport among Polynesians. With that said, I think he is doing great out there representing the Samoan and Tongan cultures. I root for him anytime he plays. Golf Twitter needs to relax.
 
He is just not that talented as one would think. He is very consistent, but is not talented enough on the PGA stage to stand out.

I don't know that I agree with that. His consistency stands out. Finau is ranked 20th in the world that is pretty special. I agree he seems to be lacking something to close but not to pick on Homa is closer to not talented enough to stand out. Homa flashes into contention occasionally, keeps his card and if the planets align can get a win. Finau is consistently in the top 10 and is an ATM. To me that stands out.
 
Great discussion on this subject on Off Course this morning with @Canadan and @vgolfman
 
Stacking up the high finishes like he’s Charles Howell 🤑
 
He is just not that talented as one would think. He is very consistent, but is not talented enough on the PGA stage to stand out.
36 Top Ten finishes in the last four years (35 as of Canadan’s OP, plus he was T2 in the Farmer’s this weekend) would say otherwise. Dude is a baller, he just can’t deal the coup de grace on Sundays.
 
36 Top Ten finishes in the last four years (35 as of Canadan’s OP, plus he was T2 in the Farmer’s this weekend) would say otherwise. Dude is a baller, he just can’t deal the coup de grace on Sundays.

And he makes the kind of living most of us would like to make. I don't know much about him, but I guess you start wondering about his competitive fires. I like the guy. Want him to break through.
 
I was going to bump this tomorrow, nice.

Yet another top 10. It's kind of impressive.
If he’s trying to stay off the IRS’s radar I don’t think this is the best way to do it.
 
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