Detroit ( Associated Press) — Tony Finau Sunday at Detroit Golf Club ran with the Rocket Mortgage Classic and became the first PGA Tour player in three years to win consecutive regular season events.
Finau finished with a five-under 67 with a five-shot victory and a tournament-record 26-under 262. Taylor Pendrith (72), Patrick Cantley (66) and Rookie of the Year front-runner Cameron Young (68) finished second.
Finau secured the fourth win of his career, his third title in more than 11 months. He was last week’s 3M Open winner in Minnesota, where he went back five strokes to win three. Brendan Todd was the last player to win two straight in the regular season, doing so in 2019.
Finau, a Salt Lake City native with Tongan-Samoan heritage, began expanding his success last August at The Northern Trust, where he scored his first win in five years. and 142 PGA Tour starts.
Finau capped off another drought in Detroit, winning the first in six attempts when he held or shared a 54-hole lead in a PGA Tour event. With his sixth birdie and a closing par at number 17, he broke Nate Lashley’s 25-under set tournament record in 2019 during the inaugural PGA Tour event.
The PGA Tour will kick off the regular season at the Wyndham Championships, with the North Carolina event starting Thursday. Players on the Bubble will have one last shot at finishing in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings to earn a place in the playoffs and a full card next season.
Finau and Pendrith tied on Sunday and ended their potential duel in Detroit.
Pendrith had his first weak round of the tournament after sharing a first-round lead with Finau, leading them by one shot after the second and matching his 21-under total through three rounds.
The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Canada hit a foul tee shot on the rough second hole behind tree branches – after being distracted by a running fan in the fairway – and later pulled 9 feet to lose Good lead for.
Cantley, number four in the world rankings, had his third straight round in the mid-60s after starting with a 70. Young returned with a 71 in the first round and finished second for the fifth time.
Pendrith struggled in the final round like he did only the second time he had a 54-hole lead. He led the Bermuda Championship last October by three shots, before a 76 dropped him to fifth, his best performance before his performance at the Motor City. Pendrith played his third tournament after nearly four months missing due to a broken rib.
Finau began moving away from Pendrith with an 11-foot birdie putt at No. 4 and a tap-in for a birdie at No. 7.
For his third birdie, he made a 21-foot putt for the birdie at number 10. After his first bogey at No. 11 in the tournament, Finau made a 31-foot putt with a right-to-left break at No. 12, and Pendrith missed an 11-foot putt on the same hole and fell four shots behind.
Kentley took the lead with a 5-foot eagle put within three shots of the par-5 lead in 14th position. On the same hole, Finau made his fifth birdie in the final round to take a four-shot lead.
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