Tony Finau’s third-round 62 put the big-hitting Utah native into contention at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. But even though he didn’t go on to win, Finau accomplished a PGA Tour first at TPC Summerlin that is worth acknowledging.
Finau, despite carding seven birdies and an eagle on Saturday, actually lost 1.507 strokes/putting relative to the field. And in doing so, Finau became the first player in PGA Tour Shotlink history to card a 62 or lower while also losing strokes putting. That’s how hard that is to accomplish! (Kudos to the PGA Tour’s Sean Martin for digging up that amazing stat.)
Tony Finau's 62 was the first round of 62 or lower in the ShotLink era where a player lost strokes on the greens.
(His SG: Putting is still less than 0 if you count the 15-footer he made from the fringe on 11.)
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) October 5, 2019
In some ways, you have to ask: How much better could Finau’s round have been? Looking closer, Finau missed five putts of 15 feet or less, including two inside 10 feet . . . so he really could’ve threatened a round of 59 with a few more holed putts. That’s how well Finau hit the ball on Saturday (he hit 87 percent of his greens, also an astounding number).
