Genesis Invitational: Tony Finau goes low on Sunday but still falls short in playoff

Tony Finau made an impressive Sunday charge with the low round, a 64, but lost in a playoff to Max Homa at the Genesis Invitational.

Of all of Tony Finau’s close calls and near misses – and there are a lot to choose from – this one at the Genesis Invitational has to hurt the most.

Finau was at his Sunday’s best at Riviera Country Club, shooting the low round of the day and tying his lowest final round on the PGA Tour, a 7-under 64 to pass 54-hole leader Sam Burns. This was the type of Sunday charge that Finau’s fan base has been waiting for and he finally delivered.

“We saw (Burns) get to 13 (under) and I was at 9, 10, so I was still trying to keep the pedal to the metal, trying to make some birdies coming down the stretch,” Finau said.

He did just that and it still wasn’t enough. That’s because eventual champion Max Homa was every bit as good, shooting a bogey-free 66 and tying Finau with a 72-hole total of 12-under 272.

Genesis Invitational: Leaderboard | Photos | Winner’s bag

Finau was beyond fortunate to make a playoff with Homa, who missed a 3-foot birdie putt to win at the last in regulation.

“I was expecting him to make that, but I was ready to play after that no matter what,” Finau said.

Given a new lease on life, Finau failed to take advantage. His putter had been his sword on Sunday. He had holed 17-of-17 putts from inside 10 feet during regulation, but his putter didn’t cooperate during extra holes.

After both players hit tee shots left at the first playoff hole, the 282-yard par-4 10th hole, Finau appeared to be in the driver’s seat. Homa’s ball nestled near the trunk of a tree, limiting his options. He was fortunate to be able to play away from the hole and get his ball on the green and save par. Finau had a much more routine chip for his second shot, but it ran nearly 8 feet past the hole. With a putt to win, he missed.

“It was nice to have a look to win a golf tournament, I haven’t had that feeling since on the 72nd hole or in a playoff since Waste Management last year,” he said. “Not the best putt I hit, but I had a chance to win one and unfortunately didn’t get it done this time.”

Finau’s putt was longer than Homa’s miss in regulation, but it felt as if he had returned Homa’s philanthropy and blown a golden opportunity to end his winless streak dating to the 2016 Puerto Rico Open.

Finau took too aggressive of a line at the par-3 14th with his 7 iron and shortsided himself in the left greenside bunker. He blasted to just under 10 feet. After Homa planted his tee shot to 12 feet and cozied his birdie effort to tap-in range, it was do-or-die for Finau.

“Hit a proper putt,” said Finau of his missed effort to extend the playoff. “I think sometimes in those situations almost like match play when you’re forced to make a putt, you probably hit it harder than you would normally hit it and that’s what I did there. I’ve been reading putts all week for speed, that kind of ends up by the hole, maybe a foot by. That one ended up hitting a little harder.”

When Finau replays how he didn’t go home with the winner’s trophy, he should also think about his approach shot at the 72nd hole of regulation. He blasted his drive 319 yards into the fairway, but missed the green from 146 yards and had to scramble for par. One more birdie could’ve been the difference.

In the end, it’s his 10th runner-up finish, 21st top 5, and 37th top 10 for Finau since his last victory. He’s collected a whopping $19.2 million since the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. His time will come and his performance this week showed what he’s capable of doing on a Sunday. He just needs to slam the door shut next time, and there should be a next time relatively soon given his recent run of form (four top-5s in his last five starts worldwide).

“I’ll keep marching on,” Finau said. “I’m not a quitter, I’m not someone that’s going to fade away into the sunset because I can’t win in these situations. I had another great shot today. I don’t know what else I can say other than I enjoy playing good golf and one of these days it will happen for me and hopefully turn into kind of a domino effect.”

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