Congrats to Tony Finau on first win

[nevets88]

With all the attention to match play and Jason Day, didn't realize Tony Finau won the Puerto Rico Open. Maybe that visit with Woods, some of those winning ways rubbed off.

Quote

Tony Finau made headlines before 2016 even started by signing with Nike. And before the year's first major, he's already proven to be a great investment.

On Sunday, Finau won the Puerto Rico Open to morph from talented curiosity into PGA Tour winner. Finau, 26, defeated Steve Marino on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff at Coco Beach.

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/tony-finau-wins-puerto-rico-open-for-first-pga-tour-title

 

[boogielicious]

Beat me to it Steve! 

[rehmwa]

Nice kid, does this get him entry into any of the majors?

[Scotsclaff]

Great win for Tony Finau,will be good to see him competing in the big comps.

[newtogolf]

Nice to see a Big Breaker winning.  Hopefully he does better on the Tour than Tommy Gainey.  I wish GC would bring back The Big Break.  

[jamo]

I wonder how Gipper is doing?

[Al B Tross]

Totally agree - hadn't paid any attention to the PR Open with the match play happening but started flipping back and forth when I saw Finau in contention. Great to see him earn his first win.  Man that kid can pound the ball. 

Edited March 28, 2016 by Al B Tross

[natureboy]

Funny, I had recently posted about him being crazy long, but that not automatically translating into wins.

Glad to see he found the right mix to notch his first of likely many wins. I expect long-term he'll be the most successful of Big Breakers on either tour...except maybe Gerina.

[colin007]

I like Tony, he's in that category of guys that exude athletic cool-ness.

[Wally Fairway]

23 hours ago, rehmwa said:

Nice kid, does this get him entry into any of the majors?

I don't think that gets him entry to majors, except the PGA; The Masters invites those who win full FedEx point tournaments and Puerto Rico was 300 points vs. 500 for regular events. And I'm certain he would have to qualify for the US Open & The {British} Open Championship. Winning does get him into the TPC, and full status on the tour for two years.

It did move him up to 72 in the OWGR from 103, so within striking distance of being top 50 and all the benefits that go along with that - major invites, WGC events

[Valleygolfer]

17 hours ago, colin007 said:

I like Tony, he's in that category of guys that exude athletic cool-ness.

What does this mean?

[colin007]

4 hours ago, Valleygolfer said:

What does this mean?

Another example would be Gary Woodland - someone who looks like he could have naturally excelled in many different sports. Even Dustin Johnson, those guys look like athletes more than just golfers.

By the same token, it's why I'll never root for a Tim Herron a Carl Petterson. Shallow, I know.

[Valleygolfer]

1 hour ago, colin007 said:

Another example would be Gary Woodland - someone who looks like he could have naturally excelled in many different sports. Even Dustin Johnson, those guys look like athletes more than just golfers.

By the same token, it's why I'll never root for a Tim Herron a Carl Petterson. Shallow, I know.

But Finau  doesn't look like this. He looks like a awkward skinny 12 year old with his dad's shoes and hat on.

[colin007]

7 minutes ago, Valleygolfer said:

But Finau  doesn't look like this. He looks like a awkward skinny 12 year old with his dad's shoes and hat on.

Nah, he's got a swagger to him. You can tell he's a natural born athlete.

The opposite would be Webb Simpson or DL3

[nevets88]

8 minutes ago, Valleygolfer said:

But Finau  doesn't look like this. He looks like a awkward skinny 12 year old with his dad's shoes and hat on.

 

[Valleygolfer]

8 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Nah, he's got a swagger to him. You can tell he's a natural born athlete.

The opposite would be Webb Simpson or DL3

I don't disagree on webb of dl3 and I know Finau has athletic ability, I just don't see a swagger.

[Al B Tross]

On March 29, 2016 at 6:50 PM, Valleygolfer said:

But Finau  doesn't look like this. He looks like a awkward skinny 12 year old with his dad's shoes and hat on.

I, too, think that he looks like a natural athlete but also see how some can see him as awkward.  I'm convinced it's that stupid flat-brim hat he wears - makes him look awkwardly disproportioned.  I'm no fuddy-duddy - am all for the newer styles and bright colors (although I'm well beyond my years (and body shape) to be sporting any of it) but can't embrace the flat-brimmed hats or the high-top shoes.  Love to see the energy of the younger generation around the game and how it's breathed life back into the sport, however so if I have to learn to tolerate it then so be it.

That said, I hope Finau keeps working his way into the contention mix on the tour - another element of excitement and competition factor in the field.

 

[Broke100Once]

Let's also take a moment for poor Steve Marino, who had yet another close shave but is still looking for his first win