BALTIMORE — After winning The Northern Trust on Monday, Tony Finau couldn’t sleep. He just finished eating a celebratory dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House when his phone was flooded with thousands of messages from people like Tiger Woods and Utah Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley Jr.
So at 3 a.m., Finau decided to cool down his emotional high by taking a trip to McDonald’s, ordering a Big Mac, a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese and 10 chicken McNuggets. “I haven’t 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, 31, said.
Finau’s victory at The Northern Trust was his second career PGA Tour victory and first in five years. As the leader of the FedEx Cup standings, the Utah native is looking to ride the momentum into the first round of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills on Thursday.
“I have enjoyed the last couple days soaking in another victory,” Finau said Wednesday. “I’m in a great position here in the FedEx Cup now to make a serious run at winning the FedEx Cup. My attention needs to turn to that.”
Before breaking through this week, Finau’s last victory came 1,975 days ago in the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. He finished as the runner-up eight times during that stretch. Throughout the tough losses over the years, Finau kept an attitude of perseverance and took his defeats on the chin instead of being mentally drained by them.
“I was taught since I was a kid, and something that’s very important to me is to try and overcome the obstacles,” Finau said. “I didn’t get discouraged. The biggest part was I used it as fuel to do better.”
Finau ended The Northern Trust shooting a 65 in the final round to finish the tournament 20-under-par. He needs to finish the BMW Championship in the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings to qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which carries a $15 million grand prize.
“He’s such a good guy,” said four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, who has known Finau for 20 years. “Obviously he hadn’t won in a while, but he never complained. He just sticks his head down, goes about his business. It was a really popular win in the locker room.”
Finau will be making his seventh appearance in the BMW Championship, and has finished in the top eight in each of the past four years. Finau said there’s a special feeling about playing in a big tournament that unlocks an extra spark of energy.
“No matter if you’re finishing playing 18 holes, 72 holes, there’s always something about finishing your season strong,” Finau said. “I’ve always tried my best to do that, and I’ve played nicely in this tournament, and I want to continue that this week.”
McIlroy doesn’t think golfers will struggle at Caves Valley
McIlroy wasn’t afraid to admit that it took him a while to get out of bed for his 7:20 a.m. pro-am tee time Wednesday morning. As McIlroy, 32, enters the dog days of the summer, playing in his third tournament in August, he is trying his best to push through.
“I think I feel like a lot of guys feel right now, a little jaded,” said McIlroy, who won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in May, his first PGA Tour victory since Nov. 3, 2019. “Energy levels are somewhat sort of trying to dig deep at this point, but try and put in a good finish this week to make sure I’m in Atlanta next week.”
Just like many golfers competing in the BMW Championship, this will be the first time McIlroy, who finished tied for 43rd in The Northern Trust, plays at Caves Valley. McIlroy said there’s pros and cons to playing on an unfamiliar course, but doesn’t believe golfers will struggle adjusting.
“I think sometimes when you get to a new course you don’t have the memories of hitting it in places that you shouldn’t and maybe having that in your mind somewhat,” McIlroy said. “I seem to — for the most part seem to do well on golf courses that I haven’t seen before, and especially at a golf course like this. There’s tons of definition. There’s not many blind shots.”
Oosthuizen on neck injury
Louis Oosthuizen, who sits in 11th in the FedEx Cup standings, said that he is still dealing with the neck injury that caused him to withdraw from the Wyndham Championship on Aug. 12. Oosthuizen, who finished tied for second at the PGA Championship in May, said he had to walk the last four holes of the pro-am.
“It’s not a good spot to be with my last few events,” the 38-year-old South African said. “Hopefully I can sort a few things out with my [physical therapist] in the next 24 hours, but I was able to manage my way around the golf course yesterday.”
No Patrick Reed
Patrick Reed, who withdrew from the Northern Trust last week, will not compete in the BMW Championship after being hospitalized with bilateral pneumonia, meaning the field is down to 69 players. Reed enters the event ranked 22nd in the FedEx Cup standings and may fall outside the top 30 and could miss the Tour Championship as a result.
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