Finau coasts to comfortable four-stroke victory at the Houston Open

By Sports Desk November 13, 2022

Tony Finau collected the third win from his past seven PGA Tour starts as he cruised to a convincing four-stroke triumph at the Houston Open on Sunday.

Finau's four-stroke lead was the same buffer he held coming into the final trip around Memorial Park Golf Course after posting rounds of 65, 62 and 68.

After winning back-to-back events in July at the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Finau – who finished with a final-round score of 16 under – has now won more titles in his past seven starts than he did in his first 211 to begin his career (two).

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the final green, Finau admitted he was not comfortable in such an unfamiliar position with a giant lead.

"It feels great – honestly, on the first hole I didn't know if I had it in me today," he said. "It was one of those days where I just fought, and fought, and I made a lot of nice putts on the front-nine to calm me into things.

"I've never been in this position before, with that big of a lead with nine holes to play. A lot of new nerves, I would say, but overall as the round went on I felt better, and I'm just happy to get the 'W' today.

"I've always had belief, but the confidence when you win is contagious. I've always been a very hopeful person, I work extremely hard on my body and my game, and now I'm starting to bear the fruits of that labour. It feels amazing to have that be the case.

"You never know what's going to happen in this game, but you always try to put your best foot forward, that's what I've done over the years, and I'm starting to put together a pretty full-package game."

Alone in second place at 12 under was Tyson Alexander, who had never previously finished better than tied for 44th in his seven PGA Tour starts.

Ben Taylor was the only player at 11 under in third, and there was a further three-stroke gap to the rest of the field.

World number two Scottie Scheffler finished tied for ninth at six under for his second consecutive top-10 finish, while former world number one Jason Day was one further back.

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