Tony Finau Struggles During First Round At The Players Championship

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Tony Finau battled his way to a six-over-par round of 78. It took Finau 13 holes to sink his first birdie.

Struggle From The Start For Finau

Finau’s round began with a double bogey on the first hole when he made a mess of the greenside bunker in which his second shot found. His third shot did not get out of the bunker, his fourth shot left him with 36 feet for bogey where he would two-putt for double.

Bogey’s on two, three, five, and seven had Finau making the turn at six-over-par.

😔 pic.twitter.com/jFHFo1d8z5

— Tony Finau Tracker (@tracker_tony) March 11, 2021

The back nine started as bad as the front nine ended with bogeys on 10 and 11. Following the bogey at 11 he was eight-over-par.

However, birdies on both par 3’s on the back-nine, including the dangerous island green 17th helped him gain two strokes on the field.

He ended at six-over-par and 11 shots behind current leader Mathew Fitzpatrick.

Par at 18

+6(78) today

Currently T69

— Tony Finau Tracker (@tracker_tony) March 11, 2021

The Numbers For Finau

Finau only hit 38 percent of fairways which consequently led him to only hitting 35 percent of greens in regulation.

Hit putting, however, was solid as he ranked tied for ninth in putts per green averaging 1.66 putts per hole.

Finau’s History At TPC Sawgrass

Finau’s history at The Players has been both good and bad. His first two starts in 2016 and 2017 saw Finau miss the cut. However, his previous two starts have seen him finish in a tie for 57th in 2018 when he collected $24,310 and in 2019 he finished in a tie for 22nd that warranted a check of $125,000.

Last year, the tournament was called off prior to the start of the second-round in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Finau will start his second round on the 10th tee at 10:27 a.m. on Friday alongside Phil Mickelson and Charles Howell III.