Tony Finau is coming off a breakout 2022 campaign on the PGA Tour, where he won three times, including back-to-back weeks in July at the 3M Open and the Rocket Mortgage Classic. For some, the knock on Finau the past few years was that he could rack up top-fives and top-10s, but would rarely win. Entering the 2021-22 season he had two wins in seven years on the Tour. But for the 33-year-old Utah native, he never took the close calls too hard, and instead appreciated how difficult the journey had been just to get to golf’s highest level.
“A lot of my goals are more internal than they are external. Of course, I have goals to try and win tournaments every year, win a major championship, but I always try to control the controllables.” — Tony Finau on his goals for the coming year
“It took me seven years just to get to the PGA Tour from when I turned pro, so those seven years were extremely difficult. But I’ve always looked at the cup as half full,” Finau said recently on the Beyond the Clubhouse Podcast. “I’ve given myself chances to win and I’ve just looked at it as a learning experience and I’ve never kicked myself so hard to say, ‘This is the worst thing of all time’ kind of thing. I always have had a perspective of how great my life is.”
Finau stressed that an “attitude of gratitude” has been what’s carried him through the ups and downs of life on the PGA Tour.
So now that he’s coming off a career year, what are his goals for 2023 and the rest of this current wrap-around season?
“A lot of my goals are more internal than they are external. Of course, I have goals to try and win tournaments every year, win a major championship, but I always try to control the controllables,” Finau said. “For me, putting myself in an uncomfortable situation is key, whether that’s in a workout, a training session in the gym, an ice bath, a cold plunge.
“To me I’m always trying to do the hard things and the things I can control. Sometimes you can’t control winning golf tournaments, but you can control your daily attitude and things like that. So I always try to be me the best way I can as one of my goals.
“I would say last year a goal of mine was sticking with the same putter and putter grip for a full season, that was pretty much at the top of my list of goals with the putter,” he continued. “I’ve had a hot and cold relationship with my putter. I told myself for the 2021-22 season, ‘Let’s putt with one putting grip and one putter for one season and we’ll see where that leads us. We’ve seen some solid results from that. Obviously that’s going to be a goal of mine for this year as well, let’s not mess with what’s worked and let’s keep on grinding that part out.”
Finau is ranked first in scoring average on the PGA Tour in this 2022-23 season. Last season he ranked 11th. But perhaps one of the biggest improvements the 33-year-old has made of late is his Shots Gained: Putting stats. In 2021-22 he ranked 85th, while so far this season he sits at second — a potent combo with Finau’s ball-striking strengths. Finau chalks this improvement up to self-belief and a commitment to more practice.
“The biggest thing is I believe that I’m a great putter and that’s the most important part. Half the battle is do you believe that you can make putts when they count, and I’ve always believed that I can.”
Finau also knows that this putting improvement came about because of his discipline to keep practicing his weaknesses, and putting has often fallen under that category.
“I look at myself as a great ball striker, but I also spend my time on the things I need to work on, that is right now putting and short putting. I just put a lot more time into the weaknesses of my game than I ever have, without trying to lose the strengths. That’s the hard part and the tricky balance and that’s the reason why I’ve gotten so much better with my putting and the deliberate practice has been a huge part.”
That practice has included a commitment to proper alignment, especially on putts under 10 feet. Finau believes there’s less margin for error in one’s stroke from a shorter distance. He’s also been using putting mirrors in practice that help confirm proper alignment and that he’s seeing his line properly with his eyes.
As for his overall 2023 campaign on the PGA Tour, Finau can’t wait to keep his strong momentum going from last year.
“I’m going to keep pushing myself to see what I can accomplish,” Finau said. “Hopefully 2023 is a year where I continue on this streak and hopefully do so in a major way.”
To listen to the full interview with Finau, you can check out the “Beyond the Clubhouse” podcast episode here.