LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Tony Finau fired six birdies in a five-under par 67 yesterday to capture his second US PGA Tour title in as many weeks with a convincing five shot win in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Finau, fresh off his come-from-behind victory in the 3M Open, started the day tied for the lead with Taylor Pendrith and relentlessly pulled away as the Canadian struggled to build momentum.
Finau’s 26-under par total of 262 was the lowest score in tournament history.
The world number 16 was 24-under after birdies at the fourth, seventh and 10th – where he rolled in a 21-foot putt – before his lone bogey of the week with a three-putt at the 11th.
Finau promptly responded by draining a 30-foot birdie putt at the 12th, then added birdies at 14 and 17 to close out the win.
“Anytime you win, you breed confidence,” said Finau, who is projected to rise to seventh in the world rankings. “I was just happy to carry that confidence from last week right into this week.
“I’ve been working extremely hard on my game all year and I think I’m just kind of bearing the fruit of the labor I’ve had throughout this season and it’s coming together for me late in the season.”
Pendrith, meanwhile, had three birdies and three bogeys in his even par 72 to share second on 21-under 267 with reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Young.
“It was tough,” Pendrith said. “I couldn’t really get anything going and didn’t get off to the best start like I did the last three days, but kind of hung in there.
“Middle of the round I hit some really nice iron shots and just couldn’t get anything to fall. I left a lot of putts short and obviously those have no chance of going in… just kind of lost my feel on the speed of my putts.
“But all in all, obviously it’s a good week. It’s my best finish ever. It’s fun to play in a final group. Tony played great, so hats off to him.”
Cantlay started the day six adrift and climbed the leaderboard with a six-under par 66 that featured birdies at fur of his first five holes and an eagle at the 14th.
“I thought I played great today,” Cantlay said. “The golf course firmed up and played a little tougher than the previous three days, and I played really well, hit a lot of solid shots and actually hit a bunch of good putts and didn’t have a tonne go in after the first four, five holes.”
