Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau

Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau (born September 14, 1989 in Salt Lake City, USA) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour.

Finau won the Utah State Amateur Championship in 2006, defeating future PGA Tour player Daniel Summerhays in the 36-hole championship match.

College Scholarship Opportunities in Basketball

Although Finau had college scholarship offers in basketball, he turned pro at age 17 and began playing on mini-tours, including the Gateway Tour, the NGA Hooters Tour and the National Pro Tour.

Finau and his brother, Gipper, participated in Golf Channel's The Big Break in 2009. Finau finished second at Big Break Disney Golf.

Seven Cuts in Eight Starts

Finau played on the PGA Tour Canada in 2013 and made seven cuts in eight starts. He finished T-3 at the 2013 Web.com Tour Qualifying School to earn his Web.com Tour card for 2014.

He won his first title at the Stonebrae Classic in August 2014. He finished 8th in the regular season and 12th in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014/15 season.

First PGA title in 2016

In March 2016, Finau won his first PGA Tour title at the Puerto Rico Open. He won in a sudden-death playoff against Steve Marino with a birdie on the third extra hole.

He had earlier missed a putt for the overall win on the 72nd green. The result moved Finau into the top 25 in the FedEx Cup standings.

No title defense sought

Finau opted not to defend his title in Puerto Rico in 2017, instead taking his chance to enter the field at the 2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay, but fell two players short of entering the field, which occupies the top 64 available from the field Official World Golf Ranking.

Finau qualified for the first three majors in 2018, including his first Masters appearance by making it to the Tour Championship in 2017.

Playing with dislocated ankle

He finished in a tie for 10th place at the 2018 Masters despite dislocating his ankle in the par-3 competition, a day before the first round. In June 2018, Finau finished in a tie for 5th place at the US Open after a double-bogey on the 18th hole, his highest finish in a major tournament to date.

Finau finished the 2018 PGA Tour season in sixth place in this year's FedEx Cup. He earned more than $5,600,000 during the 2017/18 season with 11 top-10 finishes.

Two second-place finishes in 2018

His best finishes of the season were second at the Safeway Open and The Northern Trust. He also finished T2 at the Genesis Open.

In September 2018, U.S. team captain Jim Furyk named Finau the captain's pick for the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National outside Paris, France. The U.S. lost the Ryder Cup to the European team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2.

$1 million prize money for second place

Finau finished with a 2-1-0 record, winning his singles match against Tommy Fleetwood (6 and 4). Until then, Fleetwood had gone 4-0-0 in foursomes and foursomes matches (with partner Francesco Molinari).

On Oct. 28, 2018, Finau lost a playoff to Xander Schauffele at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He still won more than $1,000,000 by finishing second.

With Woods and Molinari in final group

In April 2019, Finau was in the final group of the Masters Tournament with Francesco Molinari and Tiger Woods. He finished the tournament in a shared 5th place.

In December 2019, Finau played on the U.S. team in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16-14, with Finau going 0-1-3 and halving his singles match on Sunday against Hideki Matsuyama.

In February 2020, Finau lost the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a sudden-death playoff to Webb Simpson.

Into playoff after taking the lead

Finau, who lost to Simpson's birdie on the first extra hole, had a two-shot lead with two holes to play, but Simpson finished with consecutive birdies to force the playoff.

At the Memorial Tournament in July, Finau led by four shots in the third round before faltering with two double bogeys on the back nine.

Triple bogey on the par 4

His struggles continued on Sunday, including a triple bogey on the par-4 sixth hole, ultimately closing six over par on the day and accordingly finishing the tournament in eighth place, two under par.

A week later, Finau's T-3 finish at the 3M Open meant he now shares the PGA Tour record (30) for most top-10 finishes in a four-year period without a victory.

Finished in the top four in four tournaments

Finau had five weeks in early 2021 in which he finished in the top four in all four tournaments in which he competed. He finished fourth at The American Express, tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open. He also finished tied for second at the Saudi International on the European Tour and lost in a playoff to Max Homa at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Finau won the Northern Trust 2021, beating Cameron Smith in a playoff.

On the U.S. team at the 2021 Ryder Cup

In September 2021, Finau played on the U.S. team at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19-9 and Finau went 1-2-0, including a loss in his singles match on Sunday to Ian Poulter.

In July 2022, Finau won the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic in consecutive weeks; his third and fourth wins on the PGA Tour.

Three wins and one loss

Finau qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he won three and lost one of his matches.

In November 2022, Finau won the Cadence Bank Houston Open for his third PGA Tour victory of the calendar year.

Of Tongan and Samoan descent

Finau is of Tongan and Samoan descent, the first person of that ancestry to play on the PGA Tour. Finau's brother, Gipper, made the cut at the Utah EnergySolutions Championship at age 16 but failed to make the cut as a tournament pro. He is the cousin of NBA basketball player Jabari Parker and former NFL football player Haloti Ngata.

Finau heads the Tony Finau Foundation, an organization aimed at empowering youth and their families in the local community. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Alayna Finau, have five children.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Previous article in the series: Viktor Hovland

Next article in the series: Jordan Spieth