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

[me05501]

I mean it's not like he's Adam Scott or something. Talk about putting scared. 

Edited February 22, 2021 by me05501

[BallerNate]

Man...I thought this was Tony’s week! Shot a 64 on Sunday, was 23/23 on putts within 10 ft, and looked confident and loose down the stretch and in the playoff.

 

I’m a big fan of him as a person and of his game...and the stat of his Top 5 and Top 10 finishes over the last 5 yrs is nothing to sneeze at.

 

I feel like once he gets another W and the monkey off his back, many more Wins will come...just needs to break the ice on another one!

[m d g]

17 hours ago, stormin70 said:

No, it’s not the putters fault - he just doesn’t seem to putt well with the Piretti when it counts.

A good point...but his 1st chance was on the first playoff hole. Homa made a world-class par, but Finau could have chipped closer and had a very short putt for birdie.

 

The 2nd chance was Finau not hitting it into the bunker, making par difficult.

 

You never want to get beaten with a par...make the other guy earn it.

 

And you could even go all the way back to 18 when Finau missed the green and didn't give himself a putt for birdie to win outright.

 

Congrats to Homa...the par at 10 was one of the best I've seen considering the pressure, and the fact hat he kept his cool.

[enfuego]

Huge Tony fan. I don't think he needs to change his putter but looking back on the whole week he left a few out there. Should'a, could'a, would'a but if you want to win you can't have some of the breaks or missed shots he had. At the same time Max got a few huge breaks to give him a chance despite missing on #18. Having any shot at all on the first playoff hole by the tree was big and somehow on #11 he didn't hit a tree on his 2nd shot. The gap was a few inches at most between two trees and he was aimed 5 feet right of where the ball actually went. 

 

"Every shot counts" - First round #2, from 160 yards in the fairway he puts it in a bunker and makes double, missing a 7 footer and the 9 foot come backer.

 

On #15, credit to him for the aggressive line trying to give himself an easy approach. He missed clearing the bunker by a few inches and needed to lay up but couldn't get up and down to save par with a poor 3rd shot leaving 40ft for par. Bounced back great with two birdies to keep himself in it which you love to see but not clearing that bunker was too much to overcome. Everyone knows Tony has more in the tank than his high 170s, low 180s ball speed he played with all tourney.

 

He made a lot of putts but still missed some in the final round despite having the best round of the day. Best missed opportunity was #7 but probably could have made #2, #7, #9, #12 or #14.

 

Birdie opportunities

#1 - 9.5ft make

#2 - 15ft miss, tap in

#3 - 6.5ft make

#4 - 31ft miss, tap in

#5 - 20ft miss, tap in

#6 - 3.5ft make

#7 - 10.1ft miss, tap in

#8 - 7ft make

#9 - 11ft miss, tap in

#10 - 16.5ft make

#11 - 4ft make

#12 - 13ft miss, tap in (shot tracker isn't accurate for this hole but looked about 13ft from the fringe, overcooked a draw from the fairway)

#13 - 68ft birdie chip to tap in

#14 - 16.5ft miss, tap in

#15 - missed clearing the bunker on the drive, laid up, 3rd shot from 54yrds, poor approach, 42ft for par, tap in bogey

#16 - 10ft make

#17 - 5.5ft make

#18 - 48ft chip, 3ft for par make

Edited February 22, 2021 by enfuego

[jomatty]

Wrx’rs are a tough crowd.  Guy shoots 64 and makes every putt all day and then misses a few 10-12 footers and 1/2 the people want an equipment change and the other half just think he is feeble minded.  He must have been first or second strokes gained putting yesterday...

he has missed some opportunities (everyone does from time to time) and had some situations where he was in a good spot and played well but didn’t win (times where he gained strokes on the field but it wasn’t enough).  He will be fine and get some wins.  He isn’t going to go down as one of the greatest ever but he is going to get some wins and have a very good career.  Things just haven’t aligned for him.

Edited February 22, 2021 by jomatty

[bladehunter]

7 minutes ago, jomatty said:

Wrx’rs are a tough crowd.  Guy shoots 64 and makes every putt all day and then misses a few 10-12 footers and 1/2 the people want an equipment change and the other half just think he is feeble minded.  He must have been first or second strokes gained putting yesterday...

he has missed some opportunities (everyone does from time to time) and had some situations where he was in a good spot and played well but didn’t win (times where he gained strokes on the field but it wasn’t enough).  He will be fine and get some wins.  He isn’t going to go down as one of the greatest ever but he is going to get some wins and have a very good career.  Things just haven’t aligned for him.

Was he ?  Real question.  What is the stat ? He may have been. But it’s also entirely possible he was #1 in approach and just hit it that good which made the score.  Don’t know.  
 

it’s not the putter. For sure. I just mean to say that occasionally you just have to trick the mind into a reset.  And looking at a different putter is definitely one of those tricks. 
 

edit.  If I looked at it correctly he was 18TH for the week. And is hovering around 80-100 on tour this season.  

Edited February 22, 2021 by bladehunter

[jomatty]

3 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Was he ?  Real question.  What is the stat ? He may have been. But it’s also entirely possible he was #1 in approach and just hit it that good which made the score.  Don’t know.  
 

it’s not the putter. For sure. I just mean to say that occasionally you just have to trick the mind into a reset.  And looking at a different putter is definitely one of those tricks. 

I’d bet quite a bit he was top 3 strokes gained putting sunday.  Don’t have time/not motivated to dig for it right now.  If I’m wrong then I’m wrong, but the guy made everything he needed to all day.

[bladehunter]

Just now, jomatty said:

I’d bet quite a bit he was top 3 strokes gained putting sunday.  Don’t have time/not motivated to dig for it right now.  If I’m wrong then I’m wrong, but the guy made everything he needed to all day.

Yea I hear that. I hate digging for that too.  18th for the week is as far as i have brain power to dig right now. Lol. 

[enfuego]

Just now, jomatty said:

I’d bet quite a bit he was top 3 strokes gained putting sunday.  Don’t have time/not motivated to dig for it right now.  If I’m wrong then I’m wrong, but the guy made everything he needed to all day.

Credit to NLU Tweet

 

Final round 64 for Finau

2nd in SG Putting (Homa 17th)

5th in SG Tee to Green (Homa 6th)

 

9th in SG Approach (Homa 13th)

1st in SG Total (Homa 2nd)

Edited February 22, 2021 by enfuego

[jomatty]

4 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Yea I hear that. I hate digging for that too.  18th for the week is as far as i have brain power to dig right now. Lol. 

That’s where I quit as well lol.  That made me doubt my claim.  Glad someone else stuck with it.  Looks like he 2nd on Sunday. 

[TiScape]

18 hours ago, tatertot said:

Yep, it was the putters fault. Classic GolfWRX.

I was initially gonna say something similar. As I was typing i thought, maybe just looking down at something (even though the putter’s def not the problem) different on a Sunday isn’t a horrible idea. 

[jt2gt]

I think its the pre-shot move where he jerks the club inside before his full swing...can't possibly make a good swing after the wristy move. 🤣 Kinda joking...but it is annoying and I did notice it before Faldo mentioned it a couple weeks ago. 

[BallerNate]

2 hours ago, enfuego said:

Huge Tony fan. I don't think he needs to change his putter but looking back on the whole week he left a few out there. Should'a, could'a, would'a but if you want to win you can't have some of the breaks or missed shots he had. At the same time Max got a few huge breaks to give him a chance despite missing on #18. Having any shot at all on the first playoff hole by the tree was big and somehow on #11 he didn't hit a tree on his 2nd shot. The gap was a few inches at most between two trees and he was aimed 5 feet right of where the ball actually went. 

 

"Every shot counts" - First round #2, from 160 yards in the fairway he puts it in a bunker and makes double, missing a 7 footer and the 9 foot come backer.

 

On #15, credit to him for the aggressive line trying to give himself an easy approach. He missed clearing the bunker by a few inches and needed to lay up but couldn't get up and down to save par with a poor 3rd shot leaving 40ft for par. Bounced back great with two birdies to keep himself in it which you love to see but not clearing that bunker was too much to overcome. Everyone knows Tony has more in the tank than his high 170s, low 180s ball speed he played with all tourney.

 

He made a lot of putts but still missed some in the final round despite having the best round of the day. Best missed opportunity was #7 but probably could have made #2, #7, #9, #12 or #14.

 

Birdie opportunities

#1 - 9.5ft make

#2 - 15ft miss, tap in

#3 - 6.5ft make

#4 - 31ft miss, tap in

#5 - 20ft miss, tap in

#6 - 3.5ft make

#7 - 10.1ft miss, tap in

#8 - 7ft make

#9 - 11ft miss, tap in

#10 - 16.5ft make

#11 - 4ft make

#12 - 13ft miss, tap in (shot tracker isn't accurate for this hole but looked about 13ft from the fringe, overcooked a draw from the fairway)

#13 - 68ft birdie chip to tap in

#14 - 16.5ft miss, tap in

#15 - missed clearing the bunker on the drive, laid up, 3rd shot from 54yrds, poor approach, 42ft for par, tap in bogey

#16 - 10ft make

#17 - 5.5ft make

#18 - 48ft chip, 3ft for par make

Whoa, this must’ve taken a lot of time to research and type up. Great break down!

 

That’s usually the case with a close loss...it’s not just one missed shot, there are lots of missed opportunities along the way that combine in the missed Win.

[MattM97]

If I made the money Tony made with a putter that "didn't work" I wouldn't complain. 

[bladehunter]

So he was 2nd strokes gained putting Sunday.  
 

 

this made me think of something.  This is a clear indication of how well he would do /improve it he were to be a top 10 sg putter week in and week out.     His distance etc is that good.     So for a player like Tony.  He needs to spend more thought , and time on putting that anything else.   Be it putter change or not. He should live on a putting  green. 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:50 AM, iBanesto said:

 

Finau has 8 top 10 major finishes in 18 major starts.

 

CHIII has 1 in 50 major starts.

The new, improved CHIII

[Skhacker]

That tournament came down to 3 guys that just aren't closers when the tournament is up for grabs. One of them had to win, just wasn't Finau. He played very good overall though. 
I think out of the 3 of them, Homa is the guy who's going to learn how to step on it and close tournaments out. 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Skhacker

[Need4spd]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:50 PM, iBanesto said:

 

Finau has 8 top 10 major finishes in 18 major starts.

 

CHIII has 1 in 50 major starts.

Okay, so he’s CHIII on steroids. Are we allowed to say steroids around here?

 

I do want to see him win. I think we all do, the guy is impossible not to like. As much as I normally would advocate for an equipment change, I think he’s just a nervous nelly. 

[Viper4225]

Looks like he has a new putter this week at the open!

[Viper4225]

Looks like he has a new putter this week at the open!

[TiScape]

1 minute ago, Viper4225 said:

Looks like he has a new putter this week at the open!

So the answer to the OP 5 months later is… Yes! 😂 

[Greg_B]

Someone (Faldo?) noted this morning on Finau's first green that not only did he change putters but that the new one put his eye line almost directly over the line of the putt instead of being way inside it like the previous one did. He putted really well today.

[TiScape]

On 2/21/2021 at 4:41 PM, tatertot said:

Yep, it was the putters fault. 

Bryson, is that you?! 😂 

[chillybilly]

He's on Santa's naughty list for slow play.

[drbonesvt]

On 7/18/2021 at 12:41 PM, Greg_B said:

Someone (Faldo?) noted this morning on Finau's first green that not only did he change putters but that the new one put his eye line almost directly over the line of the putt instead of being way inside it like the previous one did. He putted really well today.

Changed to what?

[ChipNRun]

On 2/21/2021 at 6:32 PM, stormin70 said:

Seems (TF) always close but can’t close the deal due to his putting.  Anyone else think it’s time for him to move to a new putter?

 

News Flash ! ! !

 

Quote

Tony Finau had a new Ping flat-stick in the bag last week as he recorded his fourth top-25 Open Championship finish in his fifth start.

The Utah native had most recently been gaming a Piretti Elite Custom putter but played a new Ping blade over the four days at Royal St. Georges.

The new putter is listed on the company’s website as a ‘Ping Prototype Putter PLD Anser 2’, with the following specs: “37 inches, 22.5 degree lie, 5 degree loft”.

For details see Finau - Ping

 

[TiScape]

Piretti 

[MUNIGRIT]

Tony is Arm Locking now. Trying to get something going.

[grm24]

8 hours ago, ChipNRun said:

 

News Flash ! ! !

 

 

Not a news flash. Was reported above 2 weeks back.

[dvq9654]

This has probably been said before, and this is coming from someone who has Tony in his top 2-3 favorite players on tour, but Tony doesn't win because:

 

1) He's too nice

2) He cares more about his family / life than golf 

 

These are not character flaws and they are not criticisms. They are both admirable. However, if you look at his IG, while he may be playing golf all the time, he's playing with his son, his brother, his coaches family, etc. He's out having fun. He cares more about his family than he does losing. That's totally ok, but it's not the personality trait that necessarily leads to winning, unless one is truly that much more talented than every other player. 

 

That said, a new putter / better putting stroke couldn't hurt...