Tony Finau has held his own in his first ever Ryder Cup match. He’s not been lights-out, but he’s also not been nervy wreck in what every golfer says is the most pressurized position in the game.
This extremely lucky Ryder Cup bounce came at the perfect time for team USA
Inches from going in the water to inches from the hole in the critical final stretch of the critical first match.
Finau is playing alongside player of the year Brooks Koepka and up against a powerful European team of Jon Rahm and recent world No. 1 Justin Rose. A chip-in early on the front nine was a massive shift to keep the USA in it but his biggest contribution probably came via total luck at the 16th hole.
With water down the entire right side and the pin tucked over in that direction, Finau went right at the flag. The aggression initially made it look like he was heading for the drink for the second hole in a row. But this is what you call a member’s bounce.
You will see friendly bounces off that kind of wooden bulkhead, but rarely in an away game in the opening match of the opening session of the Ryder Cup. And it came when the USA was down one with just three holes to play. The European fans on hand in France were apparently not a big fan of the break, booing Finau before he took his birdie putt.
Finau converted the birdie and neither Rahm nor Rose could match. So we’re all square with two to play and while it may not seem like the first of 28 points is a big deal, 13 of the last 19 Ryder Cup winners picked up that first point in the first match on Friday morning.
