At the Mexico Open at Vidanta on Sunday, the strong bond between Jon Rahm and Tony Finau was evident, proved by a heartfelt embrace just before Finau holed his putt to secure a three-stroke victory over the recent Masters champion.
Rahm and Finau compete on the PGA TOUR and share a club in Arizona called Silverleaf GC. Their most recent final-round matchup took place on Sunday at Vidanta Vallarta. In a turn of events from a year ago, when Finau finished second to Rahm in Mexico, Finau overtook the world No. 1 despite Rahm’s recent resume of impressive wins and tournaments.
“The saying “the road to success is always being built” couldn’t be more accurate. It serves as a great reminder that you still have to get out there and take action despite what you’ve accomplished.” Rahm said after the tournament.
At Vidanta Vallarta, Finau finished 24 under par, three strokes ahead of Rahm to win his sixth PGA TOUR championship. Indeed, he “went out there and did it.”
In the Sunday finale, Finau maintained a two-shot lead after 54 holes and made birdies on three of his opening seven holes. On the back nine, he added two more birdies before completing his victory.
“Just with the four rounds I was able to put together, I am extremely happy. And given Rahm’s current form, I knew today would be a difficult challenge. I was completely tested, and I succeeded, which feels amazing.” Finau said.
For the first time in his career, Finau has back-to-back multi-win seasons on the PGA TOUR thanks to his victory. Along with Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler, and Rahm, who has won four championships already, he is now the fourth player this season to have multiple victories. Each of Homa and Scheffler has two pieces.
Finau won this PGA TOUR event for the fourth time in the past 18 months, but it wasn’t an easy feat.
“You seem to be so intent on entering the clubhouse to win the golf event, regardless of how many shots you are ahead by. I didn’t think I could mess this up after making that third shot on the 18th hole.” Rahm said with a smile.
Brandon Wu, who had a share of the lead after opening Sunday’s round at 5-under par after seven holes, was also beaten back by Finau. However, Wu bogeyed hole No. 8 and suffered a costly double bogey on hole No. 10, a par-4 that was the most challenging hole of the week for the second consecutive year. Ironically, Rahm finished first at the Mexico Open last year, with Finau and Wu tied for second. This year, Wu finished third, Rahm in second, and Finau in first.
“I believe it is beneficial to face up against two of the finest players in the world. It’s a great experience to kind of feel the emotions, to know how to remain composed under pressure, and to keep my attention on myself.” Wu said.
Finau had a wonderful experience the previous year after ending a losing streak with back-to-back victories at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic in the summer. In November, a week after making the cut at the World Wide Technology Championship—his lone early exit of the season—Finau won the Cadence Bank Houston Open.
The last four winning margins for Finau have been 3, 5, 4, and 3 shots, respectively. These victories followed his first two, which were playoff games.
“I believe my perspective on Sundays has recently shifted. You never feel at ease playing the lead. To be an ambitious player is just who I am. I’ve always been that way, but now that I’m in the running, Sundays are starting to look good for me, but I think I’ve learned a lot.” Finau talked about what has changed since his playoff victories.
One could tell that Finau was about to make another major breakthrough this season.
He only had two top-10 finishes since the year began, but he was fourth in total strokes gained. He was ninth at the Mexico Open even though, going into the tournament, he was 44th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the season. This week, the one aspect of his game that was holding him back proved to be a major asset.
And Finau was able to prevail against the world No. 1 thanks to a strong performance from all aspects of his game and an impressive effort. As a national open, it was given an added special touch. He said.
“If you folks accept me as a Mexican, then here I am. It’s quite special to be able to win here,” said Finau.
