Past U.S. Open failures aren’t haunting Phil

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico - During the 2020 FedExCup Playoffs, Tony Finau began "messing around" with a new shaft placement on his Piretti Elite putter, as a training aid to help combat a tendency of missing left on right-to-left putts. Utilizing the same putter head, the shaft adjustment increases the loft from 3 to 4 degrees, with the shaft slightly back of the head. RELATED: Full leaderboard This week, Finau decided to put the once-training aid into play, and it's paying dividends. Finau has opened the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN in rounds of 67-66, sharing the lead at 9-under through the morning wave at El Camaleon GC. The Utah native has hit just 22 of 36 greens in regulation - ranking in the back half of the field - but has moved into contention via up-and-down prowess, as well as maximizing birdie opportunities. He's averaging 1.5 putts per green in regulation, and he has recorded just three bogeys through 36 holes. "It's always nice to see the ball go in," said Finau after signing his scorecard early Friday afternoon. "I've had a lot of one-putts this week, and a lot of great par-saves. I think that's been the story for me these first couple of days ... I'm making birdies on the holes that I'm hitting it close, but whenever I'm missing the green or out of play, I'm getting it up by the green and I'm getting it up-and-down. "So that's extremely important if you want to stay in contention." Finau admits he is "no stranger to changing the putting grip or changing the putter," and figured this week represented as good a time as any to change things up. The 31-year-old has recorded three top-five finishes since the Return to Golf in June, and is 4-for-4 in made cuts to begin the 2020-21 TOUR campaign, but said the putter "hadn't felt great for the past couple of months." He entered the Mayakoba Golf Classic at No. 95 this season in Strokes Gained: Putting, and believed there was ample room for improvement. "I think it's a good thing and a good look for me," said Finau. "I usually putt with a standard loft; this one has a little bit more. Same grip, but quite a different look." Same stroke, as well? "I'm not 100 percent sure," he said. "But I know I'm rolling it nicely, and that's the most important thing." Finau has utilized his Piretti Elite putter head since 2017, and he has maintained a consistent presence on leaderboards in that span. He has finished sixth, seventh and 17th in the past three FedExCups, respectively. But he's still chasing his first TOUR title since the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. With 40 top-10s on TOUR, the game is there. Sometimes the line between winning and a close call can be razor-thin. A new look with the flat stick could prove the difference. "I just felt like it was time for a change," Finau said. "My body feels good, my game feels good. Anytime I'm putting it nicely, I think that's always a great feeling. "I know the putter felt good in my hand, and anytime it missed, it hit the hole, so that's usually a good sign. I'll definitely take that confidence going into the weekend."

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MEDINAH, Ill. – From a FedExCup perspective, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau are good to go for East Lake. Both started this week inside the top 20 in points, with the scenarios in their favor for the TOUR Championship. Thus, they can concentrate on winning the BMW Championship this weekend and improving their Playoffs positions under the new Starting Strokes format. Given their current spots on the Medinah leaderboard – 11 under and tied for second, one stroke behind 36-hole leader Hideki Matsuyama – the opportunity is within reach. But there’s also another element to their story – the Presidents Cup. The eight guaranteed spots for both the U.S. and International teams will be decided after the final round at the BMW, and the fates for both Cantlay and Finau remain unclear. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Hot putter helps Matsuyama set course record Cantlay started the week as the bubble boy, eighth in U.S. points. Finau is 10th. But after two terrific days at Medinah, each has moved up in the projections, with Cantlay projected fifth and Finau eighth. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau – one of Finau’s playing partners for the first two days this week – has dropped from seventh to ninth. DeChambeau shot his second consecutive 71 on Friday and is tied for 49th in the 69-man field. For Finau, the chance to make his second consecutive American team will be a motivating factor this weekend. He did not make last year’s Ryder Cup team on merit but received the last captain’s pick from Jim Furyk. He’d rather not have to sweat out a pick from Tiger Woods this fall. “I was trying to make the team on the Ryder Cup. When I didn’t, I was trying to impress the captain and play well enough to do that,â€� Finau said. “So what I remember from last year is I put my head down and just played and tried to win every tournament I played in the Playoffs, and that seemed to work out pretty well last year.â€� Indeed, Finau was runner-up at THE NORTHERN TRUST, then T-4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and T-8 at the BMW Championship last year at Aronimink. That put him in the TOUR Championship, where he finished T-15. Finau started THE NORTHERN TRUST last week with an opening 65 but cooled off to finish T-30. Looks like the hot hand is back. He opened with a 67 that included an eagle at the 14th hole and followed that with a bogey-free 66. “Got to put the pedal to the metal,â€� he said. Cantlay, meanwhile, followed his opening 66 with a 67. He’s suffered just one bogey through the first two rounds, thanks to some clutch putting. On Friday, he rolled in a two 8-foot par putts in his final four holes to prevent a good round from slipping away. “Just a lot of good momentum going into the weekend,â€� he said. “I feel good with all the parts of my game.â€� Cantlay is seeking his first U.S. team appearance since playing in the Palmer Cup and Walker Cup in 2011. He was among those considered for the final Ryder Cup spot last year that went to Finau. Given how well Finau handled the intense pressure at Paris – he won two of his three matches, including his Singles match against Tommy Fleetwood – it’s hard to argue with Furyk’s decision, even in a week in which most things did not go right for the Americans. Although a disappointing loss for the U.S., the taste of team competition has made Finau hungry for more. “After having that experience, you don’t want to miss any teams,â€� Finau said. I don’t want to miss the Presidents Cup this year. I don’t want to miss the Ryder Cup next year. So on and so forth.â€� But he won’t let his focus stray from the immediate task at hand. Neither will Cantlay, who will deliberately avoid having his focus diffused by all the various elements in play this weekend. On Saturday, Cantlay is in the final twosome with Matsuyama, a potential Presidents Cup opponent. And Finau is in the twosome just ahead with Justin Thomas, a potential Presidents Cup teammate. “I do think it’s really important not to be caught up in any of that, especially for me,â€� Cantlay said. “I’m just going to go out and do my best to play this golf course well.â€� He’s done that for the first 36 holes. So has Finau. As a result, the next 36 holes at Medinah should be extremely interesting – and potentially fruitful — for both players.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH – The youth explosion in golf has hit new heights with the top five ranked players in the world all under 30 for the first time in the history of the game. RELATED: WiretoWire: Inside Scheffler’s hot run at Bay Hill Scottie Scheffler’s win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, not far removed from his maiden PGA TOUR win at the WM Phoenix Open, pushed the 25-year-old to fifth in the official world golf rankings. The American now joins fellow youngsters Jon Rahm (27), Collin Morikawa (25), Viktor Hovland (24) and Patrick Cantlay (29) at the pointy end of the standings in the lead up to a highly anticipated PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass this week. Over the last eight years or so there has been a significant shift in the depth of young stars on the PGA TOUR and across the globe. In both 2015 and 2017 the TOUR saw a run of seven consecutive tournament wins by players in their 20s as the likes of Jordan Spieth (12 TOUR wins), Jason Day (12 TOUR wins), Bryson DeChambeau (eight TOUR wins) and Justin Thomas (14 TOUR wins) came of age. They were just the start. Current world No. 1 Rahm has six TOUR victories to his name, including the 2021 U.S. Open. Then came Morikawa and Hovland leading a new wave that included Scheffler plus others like South Korean Sungjae Im, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and fellow American Sam Burns who all have two TOUR wins apiece. Already this PGA TOUR season, 11 of 19 wins have been by 20-somethings (although Hideki Matsuyama has celebrated his 30th birthday since his two wins). Morikawa has five PGA TOUR wins including two majors and another DP World Tour title. Hovland has three TOUR wins, two DP World Tour wins and an unofficial TOUR win at the Hero World Challenge late last year. Scheffler grabbed his first two TOUR wins in a 21-day stretch. Cantlay is the elder statesmen of the record setting youth set. But if he is to add to his six TOUR wins and a FedExCup title in his 20s, he’ll need to salute at TPC Sawgrass this week. Cantlay turns 30 on March 17. World No. 6 Rory McIlroy and No. 9 Dustin Johnson are the only 30-somethings in the current world top 10 at 32 and 37 years old respectively with Xander Schauffele (28, four TOUR wins), defending PLAYERS champion Thomas (28) and Australian Cameron Smith (28, four TOUR wins) all also in the top 10. In fact, 15 of the current top 25 players in the world are in their 20s.

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