Tony Finau claimed his sixth PGA Tour title and fifth in the last 20 months with a highly impressive victory in the Mexico Open.
A year after finishing runner-up to Jon Rahm at Vidanta Vallarta, Finau reversed those positions thanks to a flawless closing 66.
At 24 under par, Finau finished three shots clear of world number one Rahm, with Brandon Wu – who was joint second with Finau 12 months ago – two strokes further back in third.
4 wins in his last 18 starts ?@TonyFinauGolf is back in the winner’s circle @MexicoOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/vGOvN2kNjb
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 30, 2023
“It feels amazing,” Finau told CBS. “Rahmbo’s the best, he’s on top of the world right now.
“I knew I was going to have my hands full with him all the way till the end and I didn’t know this golf tournament was mine until I just hit this green (the 18th) here.
“It’s crazy how this game is, you never think you have a tournament won until it’s over so it feels great and we’re going to enjoy this one with my family.”
Rahm, who had carded a course record of 61 in round three, was chasing a fifth win of the year and the Masters champion kept his outside chance alive with a fourth birdie of the day on the 15th, only to bogey the 17th after his tee shot plugged in the bank of a greenside bunker.
However, Finau responded with a birdie of his own on the short seventh and Wu’s chances effectively disappeared when he drove into the water on the 10th to run up a double bogey.
Finau birdied the 11th and 14th to give himself some welcome breathing space and parred the last four holes to round off a brilliant week.
