Tony Finau takes control of Houston Open, Scottie Scheffler on back foot at Memorial Park
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Published 11/11/2022 at 22:47 GMT
Tony Finau made a big move on day two of the Houston Open to power to the top of the leaderboard at Memorial Park Golf Course. He missed the cut in the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico last week but was back to his sizzling best in Texas on Friday and looks like the man to beat at the weekend. Scottie Scheffler will be doing the chasing at the weekend.
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After a missed cut on his return to action last week, Tony Finau bounced back to his best to storm to the top of the leaderboard at the Houston Open.
Finau took some time off following the Presidents Cup and looked extremely rusty at the World Wide Technology Championship.
Rather than head home, Finau remained in Mexico and played a couple of rounds of golf with his son at the weekend.
It did the trick, as Finau backed up an opening round of 65 with a blistering 62 at Memorial Park Golf Course to set the mark at 13-under.
“I definitely showed some rust last week and looked at it as just that,” Finau said. “This is a new week, and I showed I am a lot sharper this week than last.”
The forecast is for the wind to pick up into Saturday, and Finau feels his late-early tee slot played to his advantage.
“The wind is supposed to change,” Finau said. “They moved the tee boxes up, and I felt we had to take advantage.
“I think it is going to be important. I think it is going to be a lot trickier to score with the north wind. But I am looking forward to the challenge and am happy with the way I played the first two days.”
Second Round Leaderboard
- 1. Tony Finau, 13-under
- 2. Patrick Rodgers, nine-under
- 3. Tyson Alexander, eight-under
- T4. James Hahn, seven-under
- T4. Carl Yuan, seven-under
Finau birdied the final three holes on each nine to get a share of the Memorial Park course record at 62, which also equalled the world No. 15’s career-low score on the PGA Tour.
Scottie Scheffler requires a win this week to dislodge Rory McIlroy from the world No. 1 spot.
He has a Finau-sized mountain to climb and will be on the back foot as he will have to return on Saturday morning to finish his second round after rain brought an early end to play on Friday.
Scheffler did not have his best golf on Thursday, but was much better on Friday. He birdied his opening hole and chipped in for eagle on his 12th to get to five-under.
The top of the leaderboard was dominated by those who went out early, with only Alex Noren of the late starters able to break into the upper echelons. The Swede is eight-under, and will need to return to finish his final three holes on Saturday.
Mark Hubbard will not be in action at the weekend after being disqualified for ‘knowingly’ adding a 15th club into his bag, with the legal limit being 14.
He would have missed the cut after finishing his second round at nine-over, but the rules violation saw him handed a DQ.
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