Finau beats Canadian Pendrith for the second year in a row on the PGA Tour

DETROIT (AP) — Tony Finau has changed the conversation about himself in less than a calendar year.

Finau ran away with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday, becoming the first player in three years to win consecutive PGA Tour events in the regular season. He finished with a 5-under 67 for a five-shot win and a tournament record 26-under 262 overall.

It was his fourth career win and his third title in over 11 months. Finau began his winning streak last August at The Northern Trust, where he celebrated his first win in five years and 142 PGA Tour starts.

“I’m proud of how I’ve fought through adversity in my career,” said Finau, a Salt Lake City native of Tongan-Samoan heritage. “They say a winner is just a loser who keeps trying, and that’s me.”

Finau ended a Detroit drought and won for the first time in six tries when he held or shared the 54-hole lead in a PGA Tour event.

And he made it easy.

Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith (72), Patrick Cantlay (66) and Rookie of the Year leader Cameron Young (68) took a distant second place.

“I wasn’t that close,” Young said. “Tony put on a show.”

As a matter of fact.

Finau hit 66 of 72 greens on practice, behind the accuracy of just two players since 1980 at a 72-hole PGA Tour event. Peter Jacobsen hit 69 greens in regulation at Pebble Beach in 1995 and a year later Willie Wood hit 67 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

With Finau’s sixth birdie at number 17 and a final par, he broke Nate Lashley’s tournament record of 25 under set in 2019 during the inaugural PGA Tour event.

The PGA Tour will wrap up the regular season at the Wyndham Championship, with the event opening in North Carolina on Thursday. Players on the bubble have one last chance to finish in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup leaderboard to secure a playoff spot and a full map next season.

Finau and Pendrith started Sunday after what looked like a matchplay third round and a potential Detroit duel became a dud.

Pendrith had his first lackluster round of the tournament after sharing the lead with Finau in the first round, leading him by a shot after the second and equaling his 21-under total in three rounds.

The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Canada hit a faulty tee shot behind branches on the second hole on the right in the rough – after being deflected by a fan running down the fairway – and pulled a 9-foot putt onto the hole to lose the lead for good.

World No. 4 Cantlay had his third consecutive round in the mid-60s after opening with a 70. Young bounced back from a 71 in the first round to finish second for the fifth time.

“I’d be lying if I said it’s easy to watch other people win,” Young said. “Obviously Tony beat us all by a mile today.”

Pendrith struggled in the last round just as he had the only other time he had a 54 hole lead. He led the Bermuda Championship by three shots last October before a 76 dropped him to fifth, which was his best finish before his Motor City appearance.

“It hurts a bit,” said Pendrith, who was playing in his third tournament after missing nearly four months with a broken rib.

Finau began moving away from Pendrith with an 11-foot birdie putt at #4 and a tap-in for birdie at #7.

A par-saving 11-foot putt in 9th place was crucial.

“When that came up, it gave me some momentum and then I was in control of the golf tournament,” Finau said.

He made a 21-foot putt for birdie at number 10 for his third birdie. After his first bogey of the tournament in 11th place, Finau made a 31-foot putt with a right-to-left break in 12th place.

Finau was the 3M Open champion in Minnesota last week, where he bounced back from five strokes to win by three. Brendon Todd became the last PGA Tour player to win back-to-back regular season wins, accomplishing the feat in 2019.

“One week can change your life,” said Finau. “If you look at mine, two weeks has changed my life.”

CHIP SHOTS: Three BC golfers played respectable rounds Sunday but were never in the running. Adam Svensson of Surrey finished 24th with 12 shared, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford was 37th with 10 shared and Roger Sloan of Merritt was 49th with 8 shared.