Tony Finau motivated by Presidents Cup pursuit at 3M Open

BLAINE, Minn. – Tony Finau had a simple solution to combat the inevitable jet lag of crossing seven time zones from The Open at St. Andrews to this week’s 3M Open.

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“I tell people this all the time,” explained Finau after opening rounds of 67-68 at TPC Twin Cities, firmly in contention into the weekend in Minnesota. “A lot of people sleep. Coffee is a huge thing. But when you have five kids in your face, as soon as you see them, jet lag’s all gone.

“Maybe that’s a huge reason why I’m not feeling a lot of jet lag. I’ve got my family here and it’s been a lot of fun.”

After carding a final-round 66 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Finau has carried the momentum into the third-to-last event of the PGA TOUR regular season. Standing No. 30 on the FedExCup, the 32-year-old is well positioned into the Playoffs.

He’s also chasing a spot on the United States Presidents Cup team. Finau currently holds the No. 11 spot on the standings; a win at the 3M Open would project him to No. 7.

After the 3M Open, four events remain to cement a spot inside the top-six for automatic inclusion on the United States roster at Quail Hollow Club in September; the cutoff occurs after the BMW Championship. Six Captain’s selections will be added afterward.

Finau has represented the United States in the past three international competitions – 2018 Ryder Cup, 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup. He was a Captain’s selection all three times and has compiled a record of 3-4-3.

“It means everything, everything to your career,” said Finau of the significance of competing in international team competitions. “The best experiences I’ve had in this game have been at those team events … what it does is it keeps you hungry for more, that’s all it does.

“That's definitely a motivating factor, but I would say every week you tee it up, you have a goal in mind, and for me this week it's to put myself in contention to win on Sunday and I've done a good job of that for two rounds.”

He has indeed, thrilling the legions of fans that turned out Thursday and Friday to watch Finau in his pairing alongside Jason Day and Davis Riley.

Finau made bogey on his first hole Thursday at TPC Twin Cities but has kept a clean card since, adding eight birdies to move onto the front page of the leaderboard.

The two-time PGA TOUR winner hasn’t earned a TOUR title in Minnesota, but he has been close. He finished T3 in 2020, three strokes back of Michael Thompson, and carries fond memories of a week with longtime friend and swing coach Boyd Summerhays on the bag.

“He forgot to put sunscreen on his legs,” Finau laughed regarding Summerhays. “His legs were red the last couple of rounds, and he was quite embarrassed. That was quite funny, and that was the last time he’s ever caddied for me.”

Finau doesn’t want to leave his Presidents Cup fate in the hands of Captain Davis Love III; he’s motivated to make the team on merit. But he knows that thinking outcome over process does little good. “It’s almost impossible to make those teams if you’re looking that far ahead,” he said.

So he’ll get away from golf between rounds at TPC Twin Cities. Accompanied by his wife and five kids in Minnesota, their Friday afternoon plans involved time around the water.

Fitting for the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“We got an Airbnb right on (hole) No. 10,” Finau said. “We’ll be fishing on that lake later this evening.”