Tony Finau first held up a trophy, victorious on the PGA Tour, in 2016 at the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach. Since that win, Finau has had 40 top-10 finishes, eight second-place finishes and five years without holding another trophy.
Only Louis Oosthuizen has had more runners-up finishes (11) than Finau among active players.
Finau broke that streak on Monday when he won the Northern Trust in a playoff against Cameron Smith after a rain-filled weekend that delayed his victory an extra day. For a moment, after hitting his approach in the bunker on 18 to close regulation, and after Smith had back-to-back birdies coming into the final hole, it seemed as though Finau might continue the trend and add to his rolling stat of runner-up finishes.
“All I know is I’m a lot different player than I was then,” Finau said after the tournament. “I’m a lot better player and I feel like it’s been a long time coming, but I also feel like you have to earn everything out here. Nothing’s given to you and I was able to earn this win, and you know, hopefully the future continues to be bright.”
Finau said he’s playing great golf right now — and he’s not wrong. He has had seven top-10 finishes this season alone, including two times finishing second.
Over the past 1,975 days since his last win, there have been prognostications that he’d be one of the next great players in golf. Those talks eventually turned into questions about whether or not he had what it takes to close out tournaments.
It went from guessing how many tournaments Finau would win to if he would win again. It’s a lonely road, and negative thoughts can easily creep into the mind about whether or not success will come again.
But a win can easily change those thoughts.
“This is extremely special. I thought my first one was going to be my most important, but I actually think this one is,” Finau said. “It validates the first one, because of how long I’ve had to wait. I’m a totally different player because of how long I’ve had to wait. Nothing has come easy for me.”
Finau said the biggest part of this win and the perseverance throughout his career is that he never gave up on himself. He never let the doubts get the best of him and he pushed ahead with the support of his family and team around him.
“It’s hard losing and it’s hard losing in front of the world,” he said. “I’ve done it already a couple times this year. That made me more hungry. That’s what it does. If it doesn’t discourage you, it makes you more hungry. You guys keep telling me, when are you going to win again? It makes me more hungry. It all equals to know, it’s time for me to win again. I hope I don’t have to wait another five years for the next one.
Time can be a great teacher. Seeing success and feeling the emotions and happiness that come with winning while then spending 143 starts without that feeling again can either cause a person to give in or force them to adapt.
“I worked my tail off to put myself in this position again,” he said Monday after a back-nine 30 got him into position. “I continue to believe in myself. That’s the bottom line.”
Whether this propels him to more wins or mimics his first win, only time will tell. But for now, Finau got to hoist a trophy again and is reminded of how it feels to see success on the PGA Tour.
“I’ve been thinking about that walk up 18 for a long time,” Finau said. “It’s been years. It’s nice to finally have that and now put this second win behind me.”
CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.
The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.
The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.
“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”
There haven’t been many games like this, though.
The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.
The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”
On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.
“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”
The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.
Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.
The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.
Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.
“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”
Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.
Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.
“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.
“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”
Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”
MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”
Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.
“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”
The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.
“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.
Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.