The Punter's De-Brief: Fabulous Finau goes in again

Steven Rawlings
01 August 2022
3 min read

Tony Finau - the winner of the Rocker Mortgage Classic

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Tony Finau has won back-to-back events on the PGA Tour and Sean Crocker is off the mark on the DP World Tour. Steve Rawlings looks back at their victories...

“Finau has always been a top-class performer and now that he’s mastered the art of winning a major can’t be ruled out.”

It hasn't been a dramatic weekend of golf action, but both the PGA and DP World Tour events were very enjoyable to watch and both winners were equally impressive.

One week after coming from off the pace to win the 3M Open by five strokes, pre-event 19.018/1 chance, Tony Finau, has won the Rocket Mortgage Classic by a comfortable three strokes.

In the van throughout, alongside Taylor Pendrith, Finau dominated the market all weekend and he didn't give his backers a moment's worry in round four as he cruised to victory with a five-under-par 67 to post a tournament record winning score of 262 (-26).

"It means everything to me that my kids can watch me, not only fail, but they watch me win as well.

And that's what it takes to be a champion."@tonyfinaugolf spoke with @Amanda_Balionis following his fourth PGA TOUR win. pic.twitter.com/EhDFUS4Z7B
? Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) July 31, 2022

Pendrith, who was matched for £136 at 1000.0 when the market first opened, was generally a 75.074/1 chance in just his third start back following a fractured rib and it was he and Finau that dominated throughout.

The pair were tied after rounds one and three and Pendrith led by a stroke at halfway but having been matched at a low of 2.747/4, the 31-year-old Canadian wilted away on Sunday with a closing level-par 72.

Pre-event favourite, Patrick Cantlay, was matched at a low of 4.84/1 and he emerged as Finau's biggest danger after slow starts on Sunday by Pendrith and Cameron Young but the result was never really in doubt and it was one of the least dramatic Sunday's on the PGA Tour for some time.

Following Finau's back-to-back wins, we've now witnessed as many as nine players win multiple PGA Tour events this season. In addition to Tony, Max Homa, Sam Burns, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have all won at least twice and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Finau win a third title.

It took the big hitting 32-year-old more than five years to win his second PGA Tour title after he'd got off the mark at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016 but he's now won three in less than 12 months and yesterday's victory was his first from the front.

Money for Finau in the US Masters market

He's always been a top-class performer and now that he's mastered the art of winning a major can't be ruled out. And for ante-post backers, the US Masters looks like the one to back him in.

Finau caught the eye on his very first visit to Augusta when he sat second after day one before going on to finish 10th in 2018 and he finished fifth behind Tiger Woods 12 months later after a 64 in round three had seen him close into a tie for second.

He's since finished 38th, 10th and 35th but a confident in-form Finau will be a massive threat around Augusta in April and the last remaining 50/1 around this morning about him winning the first major of 2023 may not last long.

Over on the DP World Tour, pre-event 85.084/1 chance, Sean Crocker, who was matched at a high of 120.0119/1, was in search of his first win as a pro at any level at the Hero Open.

Sean Crocker.jpg

The 31-year-old Zimbabwe-born American was in front from the get-go and he shortened up from 6.611/2 to 2.8415/8 in-between rounds two and three when he stretched his lead from on to two strokes with a chip-in eagle at the 18th on Saturday.

Challengers came and went over the weekend before pre-event 55.054/1 chance, Eddie Pepperell emerged as Crocker's biggest danger.

The 31-year-old Englishman, in search of his third DP World Tour title and his first in four years, was matched at a low of 3.3512/5 as he closed with a seven-under-par 65 around Fairmont St Andrews but never quite looked like being enough.

Course winner, Adrian Otaegui, was matched at a low of 2.77/4 in-running after a great run on the front-nine on Sunday but it was impossible to fault Crocker who seized the initiative back with three birdies in four holes after the turn.

Pepperell's strong finish meant Crocker couldn't ease up and his par save at 17 from six feet and his two-putt par on 18 from 52 feet were very impressive given the circumstances.

Unusually, both this week's winners were the only players to trade at odds-on and following in the footsteps of Ryan Fox (Ras al Khaimah Classic) and Haotong Li (BMW international Open), Crocker is only the third wire-to-wire winner on the DP World Tour this year.

The DP World Tour moves from Scotland to Wales for the Cazoo Open this week and the PGA Tour takes in the final counting event before the FedEx Cup playoff series begins - the Wyndham Championship - and I'll be back later today and/or tomorrow with the previews.

*You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter