Tony Finau ties course record, grabs lead in title defense at Texas Children's Houston Open

HOUSTON – Tony Finau nearly broke the course record he shares Friday at Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston’s beloved local muni that has presented a rollicking stage for this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open.

A share of the record will suffice, though. It has him positioned to defend his title this weekend in the Lone Star State – even with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hot on his heels, and with contrasting springtime conditions after winning here in fall 2022.

Propelled by a new driver shaft and a putting adjustment, Finau carded 8-under 62 in Friday’s second round at Memorial Park Golf Course, moving atop the leaderboard at 9-under 131 through the morning wave (Scheffler held second place, two shots back, with nine holes to play). Finau caught fire with a torrid six-hole stretch on his back nine, Memorial Park’s front side, playing Nos. 3-8 in a combined 6-under – capped by a chip-in eagle at the par-5 eighth.

Finau had a chance to set the course and tournament record at his final hole, the par-3 ninth – which was aced by Chan Kim earlier in the day – but he couldn’t convert from 16 feet.

Nonetheless, it’s a performance that sets up Finau, a six-time TOUR winner, to successfully defend for the first time, as he matches his second-round 62 in fall 2022 (also shot by Scheffler in the second round in fall 2021, en route to a runner-up finish). Ron Streck (1981/R3/Woodlands CC) and Fred Funk (1992/R3/TPC Woodlands) previously carded rounds of 62 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, an event first played in 1946.

“I didn’t quite see a 62 out there,” quipped adopted Houstonian Sahith Theegala after seeing Finau’s score. “That’s one where you take your hat off and shake Tony’s hand. That’s a hell of a round.”

After losing nearly three strokes to the field on the greens in an opening-round 1-under 69 (-2.884, ranking No. 139 of 144 players), Finau made a setup adjustment into Friday’s round with the guidance of instructor Boyd Summerhays, who is on-site this week in Houston. It paid quick dividends – he ranked No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Putting for the second round at press time, gaining nearly four strokes on the field. The flatstick heated up big-time on his final few holes – he drained a 27-foot birdie at No. 4 and a 10-footer to save par at No. 5 before rolling in back-to-back 30-foot birdies on Nos. 6 and 7. Then came the 40-foot chip-in eagle at No. 8, which was almost gravy at that point.

Finau entered the week at No. 57 on the FedExCup standings, making seven cuts in eight starts but with just one top-10 finish (a T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January). He professed confidence in the direction of his game at a Tuesday press conference, though, noting diligent gym work and speed gains that have him feeling spry in his 10th TOUR season.

Meanwhile, he was testing a new driver shaft – a Mitsubishi Diamana GT 70TX – that he implemented for competition after early-week range work and pro-am experimentation. He entered the week at No. 74 this season in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, after ranking no worse than No. 44 in the category in his previous nine TOUR seasons. As of press time, he ranked No. 4 this week in the category, gaining roughly 2.5 strokes on the field.

“Spin numbers have been really high and it's been enough time to where after last week, I was just kind of fed up,” Finau said Friday. “I was like, ‘Alright, it's time to make a change with the driver.’ We looked at shafts and I threw this one in and I'd say it was a nice change.

“The shaft's a little bit less tip stiff than my other shaft. I felt like with the way I'm kind of dragging the club a little bit more because of how much speed I have, I think it's been helpful.”

A finely tuned Finau is hard to beat, as noted by his playing partner Wyndham Clark – fresh off a pair of back-to-back runner-up finishes to Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and THE PLAYERS Championship. Clark, world No. 4, knows good golf when he sees it, and that was good golf from his compadre.

“We were joking because on about four or five times today I had to move his coin … I hit the putt, I missed and then he made, so I kept telling him I was dishing him assists,” Clark said afterward. “With that said, he hit it amazing and then he made a lot of putts, so it was fun to watch.”

Like Clark, who tweaked a back muscle early this week, Finau grinded through some adversity through the first two rounds. Finau paused for congestion at times during his Friday media interview, saying afterward that he was on the back end of the flu. He didn’t appear much fatigued though, which correlated with his sterling 62 and several minutes signing for fans afterward.

At first glance Tuesday when seeing the Texas Children’s Houston Open’s new and lighter trophy, Finau quipped that it didn’t look as heavy as the hardware he hoisted in fall 2022. He was seemingly already pondering the idea of raising this one come Sunday afternoon at Memorial Park.

That vision is very much in the realm – even with Scheffler lurking.