19th Hole
Tony Finau shows off dramatic swing change at Tournament of Champions
Golfers never seem to stop tinkering.
Last season we saw many of the top players make small, or dramatic changes, to their game, with one or two, such as three-time major winner Jordan Spieth receiving much comment from social media users.
One of the most popular members of the PGA Tour, Tony Finau, took five years between his first and second tour victories but made up for it in 2022, when going back-to-back at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic and then winning again in Houston just 10 weeks later.
In the best shape of his career, the 33-year-old led the tee-to-green stats for both his wins, finding a staggering 16.5 and 14 shots on the field respectively, whilst he was also into double figures for his latest victory.
Top that with his best-ever putting spell, positive figures for all but two of his last 15 completed starts, and Finau might finally achieve what many have believed he could do for a few years.
With that in mind, there was always going to be plenty of comment when he recently posted a video on his Instagram account, showing what looks like a dramatic swing change.
Golf writer Mark Harris was one of many that tweeted the video, asking why a player with three wins, two runner-up places and four further top 10s would amend his stance and swing.
Is Tony Finau going thru a swing change?
Seems odd given how great he’s been the last handful of months.
Three wins and two other Top 10’s in his last seven starts. pic.twitter.com/FPPeSosaZz
— Mark Harris (@itismarkharris) January 3, 2023
Interesting.. pic.twitter.com/zv63AP9R7S
— Travis Fulton (@travisfulton) January 3, 2023
Maybe Finau is trying something new for this week’s Tournament of Champions, an event he has never got to grips with, with just one top-10 on debut his best from three outings but, as Dan Rapaport tweeted, he certainly seems happy enough with life and may not be as worried as some fans that commented on the clip.
Tony Finau organized a Finau vs. Summerhays two-day family match. They played 18 at the Bay Course yesterday after Tony practiced…and they’re doing it again today after Tony’s pro-am.
That’s a 27-hole and a 36-hole day before the tournament starts. Tony Finau is a golf guy. pic.twitter.com/Bx4LkOo1fb
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) January 4, 2023
With that weight of expectation off his shoulders, Finau can now look forward to stepping up at the majors.
It all looks like a decisive move by player and coach Boyd Summerhays. With The Masters arriving in three months, he has already been well backed to at least match his two top-10s and a best of 5th at Augusta.
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee has a surprising new take on the PGA Tour-LIV stand-off
One of the more outspoken analysts throughout the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour saga has been Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
This week, Chamblee reversed course, saying he believes the PGA Tour should strike a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund (PIF).
Golf Channel Brandel Chamblee in his biggest about-face since the Framework Agreement on June 6, now says that making a deal with the PIF "is the better end of the bargain."
He says:
"The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone (LIV… pic.twitter.com/XDZaC1I6B8
— JCAGOLFReport (@JCAGOLFReport) May 10, 2024
“The PGA Tour is in this pickle like it or not, but, do you want to compete with someone who’s not going to go away, who can outspend you”.
“Every move they make that makes their tour better deletes your tour and causes more division within the tour. So the time is now, to Rory’s point about making a deal, I wouldn’t have said that a year ago… but it is the better end of the bargain.”
Chamblee’s new stance seems to be in line with that of Rory McIlroy, who reportedly wanted to rejoin the PGA Tour board with hopes of pushing a deal with the PIF closer to the finish line.
Chamblee will be in the booth for next week’s PGA Championship which has 16 LIV players in the field.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Xander Schauffele explains free drop ruling during round one of Wells Fargo Championship
During Thursday’s opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, Xander Schauffele blasted his tee shot in the woods to the right of the fairway on the par-4 8th hole.
The ball was almost not found, but Xander’s group managed to track it down just before the three-minute time limit was reached.
When the ball was found, it was just beyond the penalty area close to a fence. In the moment, it seemed incredibly unlikely that Schauffele would be able to hit the ball through the trees towards the green.
However, through the woods and above the fairway, there was a hanging wire from a ShotLink tower that Xander claimed was in his way. He was then granted relief, and two club lengths from the spot positioned him all the way out of trouble. He played his ball onto the front of the green and two-putted for par.
Here is the full video of the interaction between Schauffele and the rules official.
??? #WATCH — The full video of the Xander Schauffele #DropGate situation ?
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 9, 2024
After the round, Xander said he “got really lucky.”
“Got really lucky multiple times, on 1 with Wyndham finding it, 2, being able to move the rocks, and 3, the ShotLink tower being in like my only shot line possible. To walk out there with sort of a no breeze 4 with what I thought was almost out was a really good break.”
“Yeah, I hit it in the trees. My ball was probably like a foot, two feet from the fence. If I — ball was here, fence was kind of here, hitting back this direction.
“If I went towards the green, the fence kind of worked this way so I had what I could hit, a 4-iron or something low and just kind of run it through. If it gets stuck, I’ll just kind of hit my next one out. But I brought the rules official in there with me because I was like, you’ve got to be OK with this because this is literally the only shot I can hit.”
“So Austin [Kaiser] and I moved two massive rocks that weren’t embedded and then I got relief out of the junk and then hit a pretty good shot on the green from there. What was a very stressful moment turned into a pretty stressless par.”
Schauffele finished the round at seven under, which gives him a three-shot lead going into Friday’s second round.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis
According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.
Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.
However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”
Here's Rory McIlroy talking about the PGA Tour policy board and the "subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason." pic.twitter.com/0skNOwtWxz
— Patrick McDonald (@pmcdonaldCBS) May 8, 2024
The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.
The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.
The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.
The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.
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