A poor 2022 was turned around for Tony Finau with a second-place finish at the Mexico Open at Vidanta.
After shooting a 7-under 64 on Friday to grab a one-shot lead after two rounds, he put himself in position for an even better outcome.
Behind world No. 1 and defending champion Jon Rahm, Finau was ranked second in the field.
On his front nine, he made five birdies, all of which were within 11 feet of the hole.
He made a 30-footer on the fifth par-3 hole to record his first of three straight birdies following four consecutive pars.
The 33-year-old Finau was at 13-under 129 at Vidanta Vallarta, one better than Brandon Wu — who finished alongside him in a tie for second last year — and Erik van Rooyen.
Van Rooyen scored 66, while Wu finished with three consecutive birdies for a 64.
Rahm encountered trouble while competing for the second time since winning the Masters when his tee shot on the 9th hole’s 142-yard par-3 went short and into the water, resulting in a double bogey.
He bogeyed the long 10th par-4 but rallied with four birdies in his final eight holes to shoot 68. Rahm ended up being 6 shots back.
“Considering how windy it was here, we managed to complete eight holes very easily.
However, after that, the wind picked up in a challenging spot.
“The golf course’s holes 9 and 10 aren’t the easiest, and that’s where we had a lot of tough time. I wish I had been able to manage that a little bit better.
I believe that’s how a golf course should operate. I believe that what makes it unique is that it was designed to experience some wind.” Rahm said.
Prior to his tie for second place at Vidanta, Finau had no top-15 finishes the previous year. Later, he won consecutively at the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He added a further victory at the Houston Open last fall to give him a total of five PGA TOUR triumphs.
He hasn’t missed a cut since, but he hasn’t been a top contender; his best result came in a tie for seventh place at Kapalua in January. He currently holds the 16th place in the world.
“Sometimes you have to ride the waves with your putter all season long. I haven’t played well statistically over the past few months, but things can change quickly. During the last season, a lot of things changed for me here.” Finau said.
Raul Pereda, a native of Mexico City making his PGA TOUR debut on a sponsor exemption, scored the 16th hole from 249 yards out, the longest hole on the TOUR this season. His shot struck the front of the green, continued in motion, hit the flagstick, and fell into the hole.
Pereda, who couldn’t see the outcome from the fairway, gave a cameraman a high-five after learning that his ball had successfully entered the hole. He missed six shots after scoring 70.
Four strokes off the lead were Austin Smotherman (70), the first-round leader, Andrew Putnam (66), Will Gordon (66), Eric Cole (69), and Akshay Bhatia (65).
Wu is 25 under in his last four rounds at Vidanta.
“I think I can have a nice weekend if I can just concentrate on staying within myself and not getting too caught up in wanting to win for the first time or anything. I really like the course, and there are plenty of birdies out there.” Wu said.
South African Van Rooyen, who was going for his second PGA TOUR victory, birdied three of his final four holes and felt at ease on this resort course off Banderas Bay on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
“Amazing tiny food trucks there along the shore; it looks stunning at night. This place has a lot to adore.” Van Rooyen said.
In order to deal with persistent problems, such as neck and lower back spasms, Van Rooyen took three months off in the last season.
“It has taken me some time to regain my rhythm, get some steam, and move forward. It’s nice that things appear to be improving.” said Van Rooyen
