Genesis Invitational
Tony Finau produced a feat so rare at Torrey Pines that even he was amazed by it
Tony Finau walks across the 18th hole during the third round.
Orlando Ramirez
SAN DIEGO — Barring a really brutal lie or ridiculous slope or distance, PGA Tour players expect to hole every chip they try. With their skills, it’s like having a putter in their hand. It can be comical sometimes to see their pained reactions on a miss when regular hack golfers are just trying to coax their ball into a three-foot circle.
So we see chip-ins every week on tour, usually a few in a single round. If a player has a really good (or lucky) day, he might see a couple of chips fall in. And that’s why what Tony Finau pulled off on Saturday in the Genesis Invitational was so remarkable that even he couldn’t believe it.
On the Torrey Pines South Course that is wall-to-wall gnarly rough beyond the fairways and greens, Finau managed not one, not two, but three chip-ins for birdie—all over eight holes(!), including two in a row. That trifecta led to a third-round score of five-under-par 67 that pushed Finau way up the leaderboard and into a tie for sixth.
How special was it?
“I think that's the most chip-ins I've had in one round really in my life, for sure in my career,” Finau said. “Maybe as a kid I may have chipped in a few times. But that's always a bonus. Chip shots, most of the time you're aiming for the hole, so it's nice when they go in.”
Finau’s chip-ins came from 20 feet at the par-3 third, 14 feet at the par-4 fourth and 28 feet at the par-3 eighth.
He said the most difficult shot came at the third. “Finished right between the bunker and the green,” said Finau, who chose a 60-degree wedge for the shot. “There's only about two yards of rough there, but it's pretty thick rough. Delicate little shot. I only needed to fly it about two yards, but I needed to put a little bit of spin on it. … Came out perfect and trickled right in the hole, so I would say that one on 3 was pretty special.”
The fourth is a long par-4 along the cliffs, and Finau’s 207-yard approach went slightly long into the first cut beyond the apron. “It was a little different lie,” said Finau, who made that shot with his 60-degree wedge.
At the 177-yard eighth, Finau missed the green right and holed the birdie with his 56.
“When I chipped in on 8, that's not really one you were thinking you're going to make, so I guess the golfing gods were a little bit on my side in those situations. You've got to get the right bounce, especially when you're playing on poa annua greens. You can hit a lot of good chips, but the chances of them going in are just low. That's why guys don't hole out three times in nine holes. So I was just happy. I guess the golfing gods were on my side today.”
Need any more proof? Finau’s last birdie of the day came at the 16th with not a chip-in but a putt—from 48 feet.
Come the end of his round, Finau had posted a 67 while hitting just nine greens in regulation. According to PGA Tour stats expert Justin Ray, he's the only player in the last 40 years to do that at Torrey Pines South.
