Last year, around this time, Tony Finau showed up at the Mexico Open looking a little lost. In the 11 races he had done before, he had missed the cut four times and never done better than 19th. And that 19th place came at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, which only had 38 people in it.
It was strange to see one of the most reliable players in the world (they didn’t call him “top-10 Tony” for nothing) struggle like that, especially at a time of the season when every top player wants to be at their best. At Vidanta, though, a switch changed, and Jon Rahm won instead of Finau. From there, Finau’s season took off. In July, he won two tournaments in a row. He won again at the Houston Open last fall, giving him five wins over the course of his career.
Finau seems to be having a bad case of deja vu this week. The 33-year-old shot the second-lowest 36-hole score of his career with a 13-under 129 (65-64), even though he hasn’t finished in the top 10 in his last six tournaments. Finau didn’t show up as lost as he did a year ago, but it was a quiet stretch for a guy who is expected to be in the running every time he tees off after his amazing run in 2022.
“This was a place where a lot of things changed for me last season,” said Finau on Friday. “I was able to finish in second place and just have a nice last round. I made some very important putts, and that helped me have a great end to last season. I hope I can keep up my good work this weekend and for the rest of the season.”
Like so many other top players, Finau’s putter is usually the club that keeps him from winning as often as Rahm. It happened here last year, when Finau lost two strokes with the flat stick but still finished just one shot behind the Spaniard. This week, he’s added more than two strokes on the green in each round, which goes well with his +3.234 SG/off-the-tee and +5.718 SG/tee-to-green scores. With a hot putter, weeks like those go from being “what-could-have-been” weeks to winning weeks.
He said, “I played really well the last couple of days and was able to make putts on shots I hit pretty close to the hole.” “That was probably the biggest story, hitting it well, but being able to capitalize with the putter is very important out here, and I was able to do that over the last couple days.”I think I did some good putting work with my coach last week, and I’ve always felt like a good putter. Sometimes, though, you have to ride the waves with your putter during a season. I haven’t putted well in the last couple of months, but things change quickly.”
Things change quickly, especially in Mexico. If this is how the year is going to go, Finau might want to start next year in Mexico.
Here are three more things you should know about the second round of the Mexico Open on Friday.
Matt Every should be on TV a lot more.
Sam Greenwood
When we talked to Matt Every on The Loop podcast in March (shameless plug for SZN), the two-time Bay Hill winner seemed a little unsure about his TV job, which didn’t start until the fall of 2021. Every, who had a reputation as a player for saying whatever was on his mind, was a great choice for the job. “I’m not afraid of anyone out here,” he said before he took the mic. “I’ll say what I want to say. Some people might be afraid that I’ll make a mistake and say something stupid, but they don’t really know me.”
As far as we know, Every didn’t say anything stupid during his trial run, but when we started hearing less of him this year, we had to wonder if he had already quit TV or if he just wasn’t asked to come back. Last month, when he said, “I don’t know what’s going on,” that seemed to imply that. Of course, it didn’t help that he still wants to play on the PGA Tour, which means he doesn’t have much time.
This week, it looks like Every is back on ESPN+’s PGA Tour Live broadcast. When I turned it on in the middle of the morning, I could tell he was there right away. Finau was in the lead at the time. Before taking on the par-3 fifth hole, he did his pre-shot routine and talked for a long time with his helper, Mark Urbanek. Every, who is known for his dislike of slow play (he once set up a chair in the middle of a green while waiting for the group in front of him), paid attention and gave slow play, which has been a hot topic on tour lately, an A+ crack.
Every said, “I feel like the conversations between players and caddies have gotten longer and longer over the years.” One of his broadcast partners answered, “The information has gotten more and more important, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but Johnny,” answered Every, “sometimes these guys, like from the middle of the fairway and it’s a stock 7 [iron] and they’re trying to solve a crime out there.”
Finally, someone had the guts to say it out loud. A lot of the time, it seems like these announcers try to avoid talking about slow play, don’t talk about it at all, or make excuses for it. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to pull out a 7 iron and start shooting, which shouldn’t be controversial. It just makes sense. Please give my TV more common sense and more Matt Every.
A start on the PGA Tour unlike any other
Raul Pereda, who is 26 years old, could call it a good week if he just got a sponsor’s permission and played in Mexico, where he lives. But on Thursday, he had other plans. It was his first round on the PGA Tour, and he shot a six-under-par 65. It was even more amazing because there were no bogeys. Even for the 810th-ranked player in the world, it’s hard to get one of those.
The real test for guys like Pereda is always whether or not they can do it again the next day. Let’s find out more…
Beginner’s luck? We kid, we kid. What a golf shot, and what a moment. Soon after, Pereda had to check with the shooter to make sure that it went in, which led to this hilarious reaction:
High-fiving the cameraman is a new thing, but if you holed out for eagle from 250 yards, you’d high-five just about anyone nearby. This guy had a great start to an already great week.
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