Tony Finau Loses Ugly In First Match Play Round Against Dylan Frittelli

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It took Dylan Frittelli just 13 holes to defeat the world number 13 during the first round of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event at Austin Country Club in Texas.

Finau found himself behind from the opening hole and was never able to recover. After being down one thru one, Finau pushed the following two holes to still be only down one thru three. However, Finau collapsed on holes four, five, and six and quickly found himself down four thru six holes.

Walking 'em in. 🚶@Dylan_Frittelli is 5UP thru 12 and on cruise control against Tony Finau. pic.twitter.com/YEhghWwvdT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2021

At the turn, Finau was still down four but was running out of holes to attempt a recovery. Unfortunately, Finau ended up losing 6 & 5 on hole 13. It was a disappointing opening round for Finau who returns tomorrow to take on Will Zalatoris.

Tougher Days Ahead For Finau

The opponents for Finau will only get more challenging over the remaining two days. Frittelli, who embarrassed Finau today, ranks as the 64th seeded player in the field. Tomorrow’s opponent, Zalatoris, is seeded at 40 while his final group stage match against Jason Kokrak is 29th.

Group 12:

[12] Tony Finau
[29] Jason Kokrak
[40] Will Zalatoris
[64] Dylan Frittelli pic.twitter.com/eWmSxMH8B0

— WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (@DellMatchPlay) March 22, 2021

In the other Grou 12 match, Kokrak beat Zalatoris with a birdie on 18 to win the match.

For Finau to qualify for the Round of 16, he must finish atop the group. His next two matches must be won for Finau to qualify.

Tomorrow’s round against Zalatoris will begin at 9:58 a.m. and can be seen on The Golf Channel.