Tony Finau has some work to do.
As he begins his title defense this week at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, Finau finds himself in a sizeable hole as it relates to next month’s Ryder Cup.
Finau, who played Ryder Cups in 2018 and 2021 while compiling a 3-3 record, sits No. 19 in the U.S. Ryder Cup point standings. With the top six players following the BMW Championship, four events from now, and six more players receiving captain’s picks after the following week’s Tour Championship, Finau needs a strong close to his season if he wants to have any chance of representing the U.S. in Rome.
“The Ryder Cup always has been on my mind from the start of the year,” Finau said Tuesday from Blaine, Minnesota. “It’s a goal of mine. I would say any American golfer playing, it’s a goal of theirs to be on this team; that hasn’t changed. But I’ve been in this type of position before, you know, where probably on the outside looking in. Going to have to play some good golf over these next few weeks and make my case.”
Finau won last year’s 3M Open, the first of back-to-back titles last summer. He added a win in Houston last fall and captured the Mexico Open earlier this year. However, since that victory in Mexico, Finau is without a top-20 finish in seven starts. He also missed the cut at last week’s Open Championship, his third missed weekend in his past five starts.
Despite many Americans in better form and ahead of him in points, Finau, who is planning to play next week’s Wyndham Championship before the playoffs begin, remains optimistic.
“I think if winning and experience holds a lot of weight, then I feel like I’ve done enough. If consistency and form is the formula that the captains are looking for, then the answer’s probably no,” Finau explained. “That’s how I see it, I’m looking at it. But the great thing for me is the picks aren’t tomorrow; the picks are still in about a month. I’ve got four tournaments to make my case if there is a question, and that’s what I intend to do.”
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