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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPENJanuary 30, 2020Tony FinauScottsdale, Arizona Q. If we can get some comments on your day. TONY FINAU: Yeah, that was quite fun, especially at the end there. 16, 17, 18 always gets your juices and your heart rate up. But overall it was a good round for me. I don't know, for some reason this golf course hasn't been my favorite the last few years, but I enjoy coming here and I enjoy the atmosphere, so I'll take a 69 in round one, no doubt. Q. There have been a lot of Kobe tributes today. What was it like getting those chants, particularly on 16? TONY FINAU: It was so cool, just being a Laker fan and a Kobe fan, just about my whole life. It was cool just to pay homage to him and I think what he means to a bunch of athletes and me included. I was very inspired. I remember as a kid growing up watching and I would always, you know, What time are the Lakers playing? And Kobe was always going to do something special, it seemed like. So when he retired, I feel like I lost a part of my life. And then obviously, when I heard the news last week that he had passed away in a tragic way, I was very sad. Along with the other eight that were on that flight or on that chopper. So obviously, sad to think about that, but the legacy he's left behind is pretty special. Q. Hard decision to wear the jersey on 16? TONY FINAU: No, it wasn't hard at all. I had the shoes on throughout the day. I think I'm only going to wear them today. But I knew, I only own one NBA jersey, so to give you an idea of how much Kobe meant to me and just being a Laker fan just in general. When you think about L.A., you think about Kobe. So it was the one jersey I owned and I knew that, Hey, this is the time. So I brought it out on 16 and that was quite fun. Q. How long have you had the jersey for? TONY FINAU: Oh, 16, 17 years. I think since they had the three-peat, I think it was in 2001 or maybe 2000 or maybe their first set of the three-peat, I got it, so it's been a long time. 20 years. Q. The shoes, putting the numbers on there, did you, how quickly was that decision made to go and get those made? TONY FINAU: I've had these shoes for five years. Yeah, so I wore these before in a golf event, in a playoff event, I think in 2016, so about four years ago I made these shoes. And again, just to give you an idea of I've been a Kobe fan for a long time, a Laker fan for a long time, so I've had these shoes in stock for awhile and I knew this was a special occasion to bring them back out. Q. You played pretty well out there today. What's your strategy going into Friday? TONY FINAU: That's a great question, thanks. I've got a to score a little bit better on the par-5s. I was even par on the par-5s and I was actually lucky to even shoot even par on those par-5s. I saved par on a couple of those ones on the back. So I'm going to have to play the par-5s better if I'm going to contend this week. And so that starts with the driver, putting it in the fairway on those holes, and if I do that I think I'll be able to score. So I got to play the par-5s better. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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