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WASTE MANAGEMENT PHOENIX OPEN

January 31, 2020

Tony Finau

Scottsdale, Arizona

Q. A really good round of golf, but there was so many pulls of the driver. Was it the neck or something else?
TONY FINAU: The neck's fine. I'll do a little bit of work on it this afternoon, but it will be okay. We'll iron it out on the range. But I scored it nicely today and you got to do that sometimes when you're not hitting it that great off the tee.

Q. You're not going to blame anything. It's just on yourself, right?
TONY FINAU: It always is. That's all this game is.

Q. Thoughts going into the weekend. You're actually kind of in the mix on a course that you haven't really had a lot of success on.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I know. Thanks for reminding me. I feel like I shot 60 out there today with my record. But I look forward to the weekend. I'm hitting it nice, rolling it nice, and anything can happen on the weekend and I'm just happy I'm in contention.

Q. Nicely done out there. Bogey-free. Heading into the weekend at 7-under par. Is the golf course any different today than it was yesterday?
TONY FINAU: It seems to be very similar, but the greens were so good, man, especially that front nine, you know, when you've got fresh greens in the morning. Me and Rickie got pretty hot there with the putter for a nice little stretch and it was fun to be in that mix. But the golf course is perfect right now. It doesn't seem like there's a blemish on it. The greens are perfect. So you hit the shots, you execute the shots, you're going to score out here and I was able to do that today.

Q. You haven't had a whole lot of success here. I would think this would be a pretty good place for -- any reason for that?
TONY FINAU: No, it's crazy. I like the golf course. I like the vibe. I like the energy. Just haven't performed. So I'm happy to be finally playing the weekend again this week.

Q. And yesterday, obviously, you go to the coliseum, the 16th, you honored Kobe by wearing his jersey, you had the purple and gold shoes on with his number. What did it feel like in that moment? And then you came so close to making that birdie.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, well, I made birdie today with the jersey on, so that was quite fun. Yesterday, I had the cleats to go with it and, man, just honor a legend. I'm a huge Kobe fan, huge Lakers fan my whole life and, obviously, tragic news, but I think as we look forward we can honor what he's done and his legacy and I just am happy I had the opportunity to do that yesterday and I'm going to do it the rest of the week. So I'm off to a good start. 1-under through two rounds and hopefully I can make a couple more birdies.

Q. You said today's 66 felt like a 60 for you here. Are you getting the hang of this place finally?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I actually like this place. I just have a pretty horrendous track record here. But I'm happy to be playing the weekend this year and, yeah, a lot more good vibes this time around than the last few years.

Q. Talk about that. What about this course has given you issues in the past, and then again, just how excited you are to finally be playing this weekend.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I guess it's just golf. I can't wrap my finger around it, I like the place, I like the energy that this place brings, and I just haven't performed very well here in the past. But I knew I could change that at any year, any given year, and so far this year I have, so I look forward to the weekend here. And again, I enjoy this tournament and enjoy this energy, so we got two more rounds here.

Q. What started working for you there late to get your number low?
TONY FINAU: Say it again.

Q. What started working for you late there in your round?
TONY FINAU: I'm putting it nicely. I was able to make some putts these first couple days and I've got to keep that up on the weekend. But whenever you're rolling it nice, it seems to take pressure off the other parts of your game and that was definitely the case today. I don't know how many fairways I hit, but whenever I hit the green and had a good look, I probably made it and that's huge.

Q. Yesterday you guys were open about just discussing even trying to make the cut and acknowledging the elephant in the room when it comes to your scores --
TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. We like having a good time and we know the pressure for me to put on myself just to play the weekend because it hasn't happened for the last few years. So living here now and having a home here, it would be tough to stay at home this weekend and not be playing. So we acknowledge that it's there. There's no hiding from it. So after we made the turn, I turned to him and I said, I think we're going to be all right this year. So again, happy I'm playing the weekend.

Q. What is your relationship like with Rickie and how is it being paired with him?
TONY FINAU: I love being in a group with Rickie. Talking about track records, I think I averaged about 75, 76 playing with Rickie before this week. So there were a couple elephants in the room that I had to address early in the week, and I was able to take care of both of them, playing better with Rickie and playing better on this golf course. So I really do enjoy being with Rick. He's arguably the coolest guy and the nicest guy on TOUR. You can't say anything bad about him. Just a great player, a great person, and I enjoy being with him.

Q. Along the lines of elephants, what's a successful year for you this year?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, yeah.

Q. Do you feel you need to win?
TONY FINAU: No doubt. Winning golf tournaments. I've been close in the past and I feel like I'm knocking on the door again. And I'm playing some good golf early this year, a lot better than I have in the past when it comes to the West Coast Swing, so I look forward to this season. And again, like you said, elephant in the room, for me it's time to win and I feel that coming this year.

Q. With the 16th being so wild on Saturdays -- this is a slightly different question, I'm wondering what you think it would be like to be a sign holder on the 16th holding up the Please be quiet signs on a Saturday.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, well, I don't think they should have any on 16, honestly. But I guess if I was one, I would do a little dancing and just kind of enjoy it because I don't think -- I honestly just don't think they should have any, but it is quite funny seeing them and people are just going nuts. But it's, it's a cool atmosphere. It's one in all of golf that we don't experience and I think as a player you just have to enjoy it and soak it in.

Q. Can you talk about why it was important for you to go out on 16 wearing the Kobe jersey again, and then your celebration today?
TONY FINAU: I just said Kobe as it went in and did a little jump shot. I'm a huge Kobe fan, huge Laker fan and just paying respect and homage to him and then all the other victims. But when it comes to Kobe, I think he's -- the Mamba Mentality is something that's pretty real for a lot of athletes and me included. I was very inspired by his play and he's been a huge part of my life. When he retired I felt like I lost a part of me because I was such a Laker fan, such a Kobe fan, and obviously his passing hit me pretty hard. But to have the opportunity this week to kind of pay respect and homage to him is pretty neat for me. So I enjoyed that and happy I was able to make birdie today for him.

Q. You've played a lot of golf early in the season. When you decided not to play in Saudi, did you consider taking the week off and staying home?
TONY FINAU: I didn't -- I considered it, but I knew I wanted to play because this is in my backyard now. It would have been different if I was still living in Utah and things. But having it be here, for me, it was, like, worst case scenario I miss another cut here and I'm on my way throughout the year again.

But I like playing here. Again, even though I don't have the best record, I like playing here. It was an easy one just to add to the list once Saudi was out.

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