In all seriousness, is it time for Tony Finau to give up the Piretti?

[wobbles]

He’s a fantastic player and someone to be admired but I’m sure he’s very disappointed at this point where checks aren’t the goal. Issues are apparent:

 

1) lacking killer instinct and passively relies on physical ability (ie. not a mental heavyweight on the course)

2) when under pressure he flinches or decelerates on putts, kiss of death

[mallrat]

I don’t understand this at all. Win or lose the only 2 putts inside of 10 ft he missed all week were the 2 playoff holes. If I putted like that I would never even look at another putter

 

[Circaflex]

OP, he was 23/23 inside 10 feet since the 9th hole on Saturday. I think the piretti was fine.

[ray9898]

LOL....is this a serious topic?  A putter problem?

[kasting333]

He lost the playoff with poor chips

[MattyO1984]

Definitely not the putters fault, this is on Tony, although, having shot a 64 to get into a playoff in the first place, I think he deserves a pass out of all of this.

 

Look at it this way, if Homa had holed that 3.5 footer on the last, which he should have done, this thread is never happening. Instead we would be talking about how good Finau played yesterday and really gave himself a chance. For me, there are more positives to take out of this for Finau than there are negatives. 

[BombinJim]

Tony should have been on the green putting for birdie. Overcooking that draw into the bunker was a bigger blunder in my opinion. That put the pressure on him for a miracle recovery with Homa putting for birdie.

[tiderider]

his iron shots on 18 and the 2nd playoff hole are just as much the reason as his putting that he didn't finish first ... poor putting strokes aren't the result of the putter ... 

[MattyO1984]

Strokes Gained Putting - 2.711 yesterday and 3.042 for the week placing him 18th on the Board...and he needs to change putter?!

[Ferguson]

10 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

He had two lefts with approaches that cost him the last three holes he played, but he played amazing golf all day and hit some clutch shots and made a ton of putts.  His short game was terrific as well.

 

Somebody had to win, he will soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MattyO1984]

18 minutes ago, Ferguson said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha, poor Tony, if he doesn't get a W soon, you could see Nike pulling the plug. Although until he starts winning, his most famous moment will remain going over his ankle during the Par 3.

[Hawkeye77]

7 minutes ago, MattyO1984 said:

 

Ha, poor Tony, if he doesn't get a W soon, you could see Nike pulling the plug. Although until he starts winning, his most famous moment will remain going over his ankle during the Par 3.

I can still see it! He played well.  

[Ferguson]

Thanks to his, "Look Like Dustin Johnson and Play Like Dustin Johnson" Make-up Kit, Max Homa is enjoying the sweet taste of victory. 

 

 

 

[MattyO1984]

6 minutes ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I can still see it! He played well.  

 

I still remember my reaction when it happened. It still amazes me that after that, he was able to play and finish pretty well for the week if I recall it anyway. 

[jomatty]

I’m definitely in the minority in that I don’t really think there is any issue with Finau’s ability to close.  He has made some mistakes under pressure but has also played well enough to win on several occasions and it just didn’t work out.  If he keeps playing the way he is playing it will start to happen for him.  While he might not be a killer on Sundays, he also is not that bad...

while you could say that he caught a good break with Homa missing on 18, he caught an equally bad break when Homa got up and down on the first playoff hole.  And it isn’t like he missed a gimme or anything.

to answer the question, the putter is almost certainly not the issue, even if putting is clearly a weak part of Tony’s game.  The guy is welding stuff together in his garage and putting it into play, I seriously doubt he is not checking out other putters to see if they may help him...

[Ferguson]

Turning pro at 17 was probably not a good decision.  Not much he can do about it.   

 

[Vardon Grip]

Putter off the tee on the last playoff hole and it left him down, as usual, then he hit a mediocre putt out of the bunker to leave himself a testy putt, and gets beaten by a 3 (net 2), classic Finau.

[MUNIGRIT]

14 hours ago, tatertot said:

Or he doesn't keep shooting really low scores, posting top 5s, and making millions of dollars. There is that, too.

 

Y'all realize this is a job, right? And Tony is really good at, ya know, making money at his job?

I agree that this idea gets passed over by the majority of fans.

[OBbogey5]

To say there’s not a problem here with Finau and winning is equal to saying he should switch putters. 
 

Tony, we’d all love to play golf like you do. But we hear you, and feel your runner’s-up pain. Whatever was going on inside you on 16, 17, and 18 tee.. Use the Force, Tony. Stay with the putter. Stay the course. 

[J_Tizzle]

Seems like a confidence thing.  I mean that putt on 10 was kinda weak in all honesty in the playoffs.  I know those guys are so good, but I just can't get behind a need to make putt and dying it that hard at the hole.  Sure could have been way more downhill than I could see and it was more of a cautionary putt than trying to drive it in.

 

Of course these guys are amazing and he's literally one putt away and has been a lot of times so he's hella good, obviously.  The putt on 10 just really felt more like a "if it goes in cool, if not I don't want to have to think on the 2nd putt" like he was almost hoping for Homa to make a mistake and lose it than go win it.  I don't know, just kinda how it felt watching in on TV.  

[manku]

Hooking two short irons (on 18 and 14/playoff), when that is the LAST place you want to miss was the problem.

 

That miss under pressure also doomed Kenny Perry and Ray Floyd (vs Faldo) at the Masters late Sunday.

 

Blaming equipment is for middle schoolers.

 

Golf is hard.

[nsxguy]

12 hours ago, wobbles said:

 Issues are apparent:

 

1) lacking killer instinct and passively relies on physical ability (ie. not a mental heavyweight on the course)

 

 

This  is funny.

[Oliver Klozoff]

It's not just his putter.  Did the putter snap hook the iron in to the bunker?  Did the putter chunk the approach to #18.  From the outside it looks like he has adrenaline issues under pressure.  The only way to overcome them (short of beta blockers) is to win.  It'll happen.  Finau is 31.   Most wins on tour are by players from 30-40 years old. 47% of wins since 2010 to be exact..  He has 10+ good years where he can get over the hump. 

 

[dlygrisse]

My guess is the OP is the type of golfer who switches putters after missing one he needs to make......Homa missed a 3 footer on 18 for the win, should he switch putters as well?  

[bladehunter]

Past time.  At least to another shape. Something.  Armlock or left handed. Something. 

[Hawkeye77]

4 hours ago, MattyO1984 said:

 

I still remember my reaction when it happened. It still amazes me that after that, he was able to play and finish pretty well for the week if I recall it anyway. 

Not as bad as Joe Theismann, but I still can’t unsee it. 

[Pepperturbo]

I liked Tony Finau since his Big Break days.   I do NOT believe his equipment is holding him back.  It's his mind-set and mechanics that get him into trouble when he must instinctively rely on them. 

[rugbydave]

I would sweet talk Spieth into letting me borrow his putter for a night.  Let that Piretti walk in on Finau man-loving that Scotty in the dark with some candles and Celine Dion slow jamming.  Instant performance upgrade...

[elwhippy]

It isn't the putter. He has access to every possible model from Ping and all the other tour trucks. He stands far too far away from the ball compared to everyone else in the field. 

[me05501]

I look at it the other way.

 

I'm excited to see a player with his already huge earning power want to win so badly that he gets juiced at the possibility and lets the nerves creep in.

 

I'd be offended if he DIDN'T care and was happy walking away with second-place money. 

 

He's run second three events in a row. He'll get it done.