Finau closed with a 5-under 67 for a 5-shot victory and a tournament-record total of 26-under 262. Taylor Pendrith (72), Patrick Cantlay (66) and reigning champion Cameron Young (68) tied for second position. Finau claimed his fourth career victory, a third title in 11-plus months. He was the winner of last week’s 3M Open in Minnesota, where he rallied from 5 strokes behind to win by 3. Brendon Todd was the last player to win two straight in the regular season, doing so in 2019. Finau, the Salt Lake City product of Tongan-Samoan heritage, began his run of success last August at the Northern Trust, where he had his first victory in five years and 142 PGA Tour appearances. Finau ended another drought in Detroit, winning for the first time in six tries when he had or shared the 54-hole lead in a PGA Tour event. With his sixth birdie at No. 17 and the finish, he broke Nate Lashley’s tournament record of 25 under par in 2019 during the inaugural PGA Tour event. The PGA Tour will close out the regular season at the Wyndham Championship, with the North Carolina event opening on Thursday. Players on the bubble will have one final shot to finish in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings to earn a playoff spot and a full card next season. Finau and Pendrith started off tied on Sunday and their potential duel in Detroit turned out to be crazy. Pendrith had his first clean round of the tournament after sharing the first round lead with Finau, leading him by 1 shot after the second and matching the 21 under three round total. The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Canada hit an errant tee shot on the second hole right into the rough behind tree branches — after being distracted by a fan running across the fairway — and later holed a 9-footer. putt to lose the lead for good. Cantlay, ranked No. 4 in the world, had his third consecutive round in the mid-60s after opening with a 70. Young came back from a first-round 71 to finish second for the fifth time. Pendrith struggled in the final round, as he did the only other time he had a 54-hole lead. He led the Bermuda Championship last October by 3 shots before a 76 dropped him to fifth place, which was his best finish prior to his appearance in the Motor City. Pendrith played in his third tournament after missing nearly four months with a broken rib. Finau started to pull away from Pendrith with an 11-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and a tap-in for birdie on No. 7. He made a 21-foot birdie putt on No. 10 for his third birdie. After his first bogey of the tournament on No. 11, Finau made a 31-foot putt with a right-to-left break on No. 12, and Pendrith missed an 11-foot putt on the same hole to fall 4 shots behind . Cantlay went 3 shots off the lead with a 5-foot eagle at the par-5 14th. On the same hole, Finau made his fifth birdie of the final round to take a 4-shot lead.
title: “Tony Finau Wins Rocket Mortgage For Second Consecutive Pga Tour Victory " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Wanda Hall”
Finau walked away with the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday at Detroit Golf Club to become the first player in three years to win back-to-back regular-season PGA Tour events. He closed with a 5-under 67 for a five-shot victory and a tournament-record total of 26-under 262. It was his fourth career win and third title in 11-plus months. Finau began his run of success last August at The Northern Trust, where he had his first win in five years and 142 PGA Tour starts. “I’m proud of the way 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 kept trying, and that’s me.” Finau ended a drought in Detroit, winning for the first time in six tries when he had or shared the 54-hole lead in a PGA Tour event. And, he did it easily. Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith (72), Patrick Cantlay (66) and rookie of the year Cameron Young (68) tied for a distant second. “I wasn’t that close,” Young said. “Tony put on a show.” Actually. Finau hit 66 of 72 greens in regulation, trailing the accuracy of just two players since 1980 in a 72-hole PGA Tour event. Peter Jacobsen shot a 69 green at Pebble Beach in 1995, and a year later, Willie Wood shot a 67 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. With Finau’s sixth birdie at No. 17 and the finish, he broke Nate Lashley’s tournament record of 25 under par in 2019 during the inaugural PGA Tour event. The PGA Tour will close out the regular season at the Wyndham Championship, with the North Carolina event opening on Thursday. Players on the bubble will have one final shot to finish in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings to earn a playoff spot and a full card next season. Finau and Pendrith started Sunday tied after a third round that looked like a race, and a potential Detroit duel turned into a shambles. Pendrith had his first weak round of the tournament after sharing the lead in the first round with Finau, leading him by one shot after the second and posting a three-round 21-under total. The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Canada hit an errant tee shot on the second hole right into the rough behind tree branches — after being distracted by a fan running across the fairway — and pulled an easy 9-foot putt into the green. hole to lose the lead for good. Cantlay, ranked No. 4 in the world, had his third consecutive round in the mid-60s after opening with a 70. Young came back from a first-round 71 to finish second for the fifth time. “I’d be lying if I said it was easy just watching other people win,” Young said. “Obviously, Tony beat us all big today.” Pendrith struggled in the final round, as he did the only other time he had a 54-hole lead. He led the Bermuda Championship last October by three shots before a 76 dropped him to fifth place, which was his best finish prior to his appearance in the Motor City. “It stings a little bit,” said Pendrith, who was playing in his third tournament after missing nearly four months with a broken rib. Finau started to pull away from Pendrith with an 11-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and a tap-in for birdie on No. 7. An 11-foot save on No. 9 was crucial. “When that became known, it gave me some momentum, and then I was in control of the golf tournament,” Finau said. He made a 21-foot birdie putt on No. 10 for his third birdie. After his first bogey of the tournament on No. 11, Finau hit a 31-footer with a right-to-left break on No. 12. Finau was the winner of last week’s 3M Open in Minnesota, where he rallied from five strokes back to win by three. Brendon Todd was the last PGA Tour player to win two straight in the regular season, accomplishing the feat in 2019. “One week can change your life,” Finau said. “When you look at mine, two weeks changed my life.” CHIP SHOTS: Three BC golfers had decent rounds Sunday, but were never in contention. Surrey’s Adam Svensson finished tied for 24th at 12 under, Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin finished tied for 37th at 10 under and Merritt’s Roger Sloan tied for 49th at 8 under. Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage
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