Sport Tony Finau has another chance to break Puerto Rico Open curse at 3M Open

Tony Finau looked as if he were headed for another disappointment after getting into weekend contention at the 3M Open, but he rallied from a sluggish start Saturday to give himself a chance to win his second PGA Tour title.

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“Yeah, I battled,” Finau said.

One shot back at day’s start, Finau found himself five behind late on the front nine, but he rebounded with back-to-back birdies before making the turn, posting a 69 to leave himself just two shots behind Michael Thompson.

Report: Tony Finau splits with longtime caddie Greg Bodine

Tony Finau has split with longtime caddie Greg Bodine after a top-10 finish last week at the Memorial.Bodine has been on the bag since Finau's rookie PGA Tour campaign during the 2014-15 season. That includes Finau's lone Tour triumph at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open and appearances at both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup over the last two years.

Tony Finau has split with longtime caddie Greg Bodine after a top-10 finish last week at the Memorial. That includes Finau 's lone Tour triumph at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open and appearances at both the Ryder He had another chance last week at Muirfield Village, where he He's one of the headliners for this week's 3 M Open and will reportedly have swing coach Boyd Summerhays on the

Tony Finau sinks a 21-foot birdie on No. 3 in Round 1 at 3 M Open . BLAINE, Minn. – It wasn’t an easy decision, but Finau had done the same last week at Muirfield Village, which was a decidedly different challenge In fact, Finau has had six runner-up finishes since that win at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open .

Finau, 30, knows Sunday is all about closing after a run of so many second-place finishes since he won the Puerto Rico Open four years ago.

Just three back.@tonyfinaugolf has made three birdies in his last five holes.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/zuT3LfA1Z4

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 25, 2020

“I've been a little slow out of the box in some of my round 4’s,” Finau said. “I think if I get off to a good start, get some momentum, I've got the ability to put the gas on the pedal and make some birdies.”

Finau has another chance to put an end to questions about all his close calls since breaking through to win the Puerto Rico Open four years ago. He has played 158 events since that win, racking up 36 top-10 finishes, including six second-place finishes. Those runner-up finishes include a playoff loss to Webb Simpson at the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year.

Tony Finau's swing coach/fill-in caddie has very unfortunate sunburn at 3M Open

Show up, keep up, shut up and lotion up? Swing coach Boyd Summerhays is learning the hard way this week.Swing coach Boyd Summerhays is learning the hard way this week as the fill-in caddie for Tony Finau at the 3M Open.

In the opening round of the 2020 3 M Open , Tony Finau makes a 11-foot birdie putt on the par-3 4th hole.

Tony Finau on a trampoline with his children, Tony Jr., 3, Sage, 2, Jraice, 6, and Leilene, 5, in their backyard in Lehi, Utah, last month.Credit Alex Goodlett for The New York Times. No one would be shocked if Finau , 28, improved on that showing at this week’s United States Open .

Just last week, Finau took share of the lead going into the weekend at the Memorial, but he stumbled to a 78 in the final round and finished eighth.

3M Open: Full-field scores | Full coverage

He’s pleased to be giving himself another chance so quickly.

“I'm definitely proud of myself on just being mentally strong and emotionally strong,” Finau said. “It was a tough finish last week, but every week is a new week. Every week you have an opportunity to prove yourself. That's what I love about the game. Doesn't matter how well you played the last week or how terrible you played, you have a new week to prove yourself and I've gotten another opportunity to try to prove myself tomorrow.”

Again, Finau is focused on getting off to a strong start Sunday.

“As long as I don't shoot myself in the foot early, I think we're going to have a shot tomorrow,” he said. “I'm excited to put myself in those positions. Disappointing at times when you can't get the job done, but for me, I have to welcome it at this point and just keep fighting and hopefully the door comes down eventually.”