Tony Finau finally got the ending right in the third round of the U.S. Open, and now he’s tied for the lead.
Having failed to properly finish each of his first two rounds at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, the Lehi resident played brilliantly on the back nine Saturday. He made four birdies to complete a 4-under-par 66 that became even better as the day progressed and the wind blew on Long Island, drying out the greens.
Finau finished his round more than four hours before the final twosome got done. In the end, he stood 3 over par for the tournament, in a four-way tie for the lead.
Finau will play with Daniel Berger in the final group Sunday. He began Saturday’s round in a tie for 45th place, having made the 36-hole cut with only one stroke’s cushion. Berger also was in that large group, and he matched Finau’s 66. They caught Dustin Johnson, who posted a 77 after starting the day 11 strokes ahead of Finau and Berger.
When he completed his round, Finau had no idea he would end up so close to the lead. But he was proud of the way he stayed composed after a poor start and happy to be in contention.
“Going into [Saturday], I needed something special to happen to even have an outside chance,” he said.
Thanks to two early bogeys, Finau lost ground before he got going. But he answered those bogeys with birdies on No. 4 and 5, while eventually playing his last 15 holes in 6 under par. He birdied Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 18 in a back-nine that evoked thoughts of his six consecutive birdies on the back nine of Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday of the Masters in April.
Those circumstances were much different, considering he needed a strong finish to tie for 10th place. In this weekend’s case, he has played himself into contention with one round remaining. Finau’s other top-10 finish in a major tournament came in the 2015 PGA Championship – two months after he tied for 14th in his first U.S. Open.
“If I can feed off the energy I had late in [Saturday’s] round and continue that momentum … it will be fun,” he said.
Follow @tribkurt