Tony Finau of Masters ankle-roll fame commits to Rocket Mortgage Classic
Tony PaulDetroit — Barring any wild and dangerous hole-in-one celebrations, Tony Finau is set to tee it up at next week's Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Finau became the latest big name to commit to the second-annual PGA Tour tournament, to be held at Detroit Golf Club from July 2-5, tournament officials announced Monday.
At No. 17 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Finau is the third-highest-ranked player to commit, after No. 7 Patrick Reed and No. 11 Bryson DeChambeau. Deadline to commit to the Rocket Mortgage Classic is at approximately 5 p.m. Friday.
The PGA Tour's first three tournaments, including this week's Travelers Championship in Connecticut, each have featured the majority of the top 10 in the world rankings.
Finau, 30, has one PGA Tour win, and has lost two in a playoff. He has six runner-up finishes over the past two years, and has three top-fives in the last seven majors. He's been a member of each of the past two national teams, the 2018 Ryder Cup and the 2019 Presidents Cup.
Finau is known as one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, averaging more than 300 yards off the tee, which should turn the relatively short Detroit Golf Club into a wedge display for him.
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He is best known, at least in viral-video circles, for a shot he hit that wasn't even in sanctioned competition. In April 2018, playing the Par-3 Contest before that year's Masters, Finau made a hole-in-one and was so excited he started running toward the green — only to severely twist his ankle.
Finau originally planned to withdraw from the Masters, but ended up playing and actually shot an opening 68, a closing 66 and finished tied for 10th.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic will feature a field of 156, barring any last-minute withdraws or any positive tests for the coronavirus.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tonypaul1984