Tiger Woods, Donovan Mitchell & Mike Conley Among Long List Who Congratulated Finau
Aug 25, 2021, 2:54 PM
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Tony Finau’s second career PGA Tour victory was a long time coming. The 31-year-old Utahn had to wait a whopping 1.975 days between victories.
In 2016, Finau won the Puerto Rico Open, earlier this week he won The Northern Trust.
Tiger Woods was one of the first people to reach out to Finau when his final putt dropped.
“One of the very first was from Tiger and that was a very special one,” Finau confessed. “He was just explaining to me that he was proud of me and the fight and grit that I had. That was obviously a very, very special one for me to see. Again, he was one of the first which means that he was watching which for me is very, very cool,” Finau added.
🐅 @TigerWoods
🏀 @SpidadMitchell
👥 Countless others@TonyFinauGolf got lots of love after his win Monday @TheNTGolf. pic.twitter.com/Gs7AvJAQD7— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2021
But Tiger was not the only popular figure to reach out to Finau following the victory.
A pair of Utah Jazz teammates also reached out to Finau in Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. Finau referred to Conley as “his buddy” while acknowledging that Mitchell is an “amazing basketball player for the Utah Jazz.”
Finau received a lot of praise following the victory. So much so that he had a difficult time sleeping.
Early Morning Maccas Run
His team, which included his coach Boyd Summerhays, caddie Mark Urbanek, and his manager all enjoyed a fine dining experience at Ruth’s Chris in celebration. He returned to his hotel room around 11 p.m. and began answering text messages.
The adrenaline was still pumping through the veins of Finau who could not manage to get any rest.
At 3 a.m. he reached out to Summerhays who was also still awake and the two opted to enjoy McDonald’s.
How'd Tony Finau celebrate after his win? Ruth's Chris followed by a 3 am McDonald's run. More impressive was that he got up and worked out a few hours later pic.twitter.com/W20p3aHz9t
— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) August 25, 2021
“I have not been into fast food like I was when I was a kid, but I felt like that was worth the price of admission at the time,” Finau stated. “We hit McDonald’s at 3 a.m.; I fell asleep by 5 a.m.; I was back up by 8 a.m. and normal routine.”
Lack Of Sleep
Two days following the victory, Finau admits that he still is yet to get much rest.
“It’s crazy, when you’re on a high in life you don’t even want to sleep. Reality is better than sleep so I’ve got very little,” he told reporters today from the site of this week’s BMW Championship.”
Appreciate all the love I've received after Monday's win! Time to turn the page and focus on @BMWchamps #RealityIsBetterThanSleep 💯 pic.twitter.com/w9m4oNtvxM
— Tony Finau Golf (@tonyfinaugolf) August 25, 2021
Despite the lack of rest, Finau still feels very energized simply due to the feeling of winning.
Rest assured, Finau will find time to sleep this evening as he prepares for the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.
The opening two rounds for Finau will be played alongside Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith in a featured group. The trio will tee off the first tee on Thursday at 9:21 a.m. on Thursday and 11:43 a.m. on Friday.
After last week’s victory, Finau is currently first in the FedEx Cup standings and ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings.
His victory almost assured him of a Ryder Cup appearance later in September.