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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDEJune 7, 2015Tony FinauDUBLIN, OHIO TONY FINAU: I got off to a really good start and was just able to keep the momentum going throughout the whole round. I hit a lot of nice quality shots early and was able to make some birdie putts early, which is nice, just to get the base started. I turned at 4‑under, doubled 10, which I was pretty disappointed about, because of how solid I had been playing up to that point. But my caddie pulled me aside at 11 tee, and told me just stay the course, we're fine, still in position to make a move. I was able to do that and just put together a really solid round. Q. What happened on 10? TONY FINAU: I hit it in the bunker, the lip of the bunker, and I was forced to play up. And then I hit my third shot with too much spin. 10, if you hit it left of the hole with too much spin, you're going to have about 40‑yard shot left. So that's exactly what happened. And I wasn't able to get that up and down, either. So consequently, I made a 6. Q. How do you approach going into tomorrow with 36 holes in front of you in Springfield? TONY FINAU: Yeah, you know, my game is in good condition. I'm playing well, so I don't think there's too much I need to think about. I'm going to have some fun tomorrow. It's going to be a long day for sure. But never played in a major championship or a U.S. Open. I like the way I'm playing and see if I can make that happen tomorrow. Q. How much of a springboard do you think this tournament could be? You've had success this year, but how important is this? TONY FINAU: It's huge. I think the field is a high quality field, world class, and to be able to put my name up there with some of the guys‑‑ that leaderboard is a big confidence booster for me. I continue to go higher and continuing to play. Q. How much of a whirlwind has this year been, you look back, only a year on the Web.com Tour, and here you have a pretty good rookie season so far? TONY FINAU: Yeah, it's been fun. I didn't have too much expectations for myself coming out here, so I think that's helped to allow myself to continue to learn and take the best when it comes‑‑ I put together a solid year and just look forward to keep doing that and moving forward this year. Q. You bring some unique talents to the table. If you don't mind giving me the lowdown on the spinning and the fire, if you don't mind? TONY FINAU: No, not at all. So fire knife dancing is just a stick with fire on the end. I stick with knives and then fire on the end. It's pretty dangerous really to do it. So I kind of stopped doing it a few years back. But I enjoy doing that, I had competitions with that early in my life. Until I was about 11 years old, I competed in fire knife dancing competitions. I was pretty good at it. But I figured if I was going to do this golf thing that I probably should put those sticks down. Q. When did you start that, what age? TONY FINAU: Like four or five years old. My mom taught me how to do it. It's a cultural dance, a lot of the chiefs back in Samoa, so my mom felt like that was something she should teach me to do and I was able to do it. Q. To carry your heritage, your culture on to the Tour, how proud are you of yourself that you've made this? TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think it's been something for some of the Polynesian culture to kind of hang their hat on, someone that they have on the PGA Tour to look after. I'm definitely proud of being the first person of my heritage to do that. And it's just been really cool. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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