PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 9, 2020

Tony Finau

Harding Park Golf Club

Flash Quotes

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon. Welcome back to the 2020 PGA Championship here at TPC Harding Park. Pleased to be joined by Tony Finau. Tony posted a final round 66, finishes the championship at 10-under par.

Tony, watched a good bit of your round today. Felt like the putts were burning the edges there more than a few times, and I don't know when that frustration might have kicked in. You played well throughout. Kind of got to the top of the mountain there on 13 or 14, but kind of go through your day and how it went for you.

TONY FINAU: Yeah, I got off to the start that I needed to. Hit a close one on 1 and after that was able to kind of calm the nerves on the day. Hit a great tee ball on 2, great second shot and made a putt. It was the ideal start in the situation I was at, and when you're chasing down somebody like Dustin Johnson and the guys that are in front of you that have experience winning, you can't really make bogeys early, so I was happy to get off to the start that I did.

I had so many, so many great looks that I thought I made, and just slid by. But you know, I've got plenty of experience in major championships. I just know how many crazy things happen. Just try and stay as patient as you can. I felt like just try and get to double digits as fast as you can, and hopefully from there you have some holes left to make some more birdies.

I did that. I got to 10-under, I think after 14, and had four holes in front of me that I felt like if I got a couple, I would have a great chance, and gave myself some looks.

But overall I was happy with the weekend that I had and was happy to make a charge, and not my day today but a very encouraging week for me overall. With the golf that Collin is playing, he's going to be a well-deserved champion.

JOHN DEVER: That's really the rub is when you have so many players, so many talented, über-talented players at the top of the leaderboard, the odds are kind of stacked against you. Were you scoreboard watching all day or were you aware of where you were?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. I want to know what guys are doing. I've always been that way. You know, if you're trying to win the tournament, I don't see why he wouldn't. But I did, and just in my head, just I knew I needed to get to 10-under as fast as possible, and once I got there, see where I was at, and if I needed to press coming down the stretch, try and make some birdies and be maybe a little more aggressive.

I was playing to win. There's no question about it. I got a lot of top finishes in major championships just in the last few years. It's great to put yourself in that position, but when I teed it up this morning, or this afternoon, I wanted to win the golf tournament and not have a close finish.

It's great to have played this well. But you know, hopefully I keep knocking and my day comes soon.

JOHN DEVER: Tell us something about Collin, who is on the 18th hole, two-shot lead. How would you describe him, his game and personality and such?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, from what I know about Collin, great player and great kid, and I say "kid" because he is. I think he's 22 years old, but fearless. He comes out here on the PGA Tour, we all know the numbers, the stats. When you start comparing him to somebody like Tiger Woods, you just know how special you have to be to even be in that conversation with somebody, with Tiger.

He's not going anywhere anytime soon. He's a heck of a player. He doesn't have a weakness in his game. He doesn't have a weakness mentally. So when you're dealing with that type of talent, he's going to be somebody to beat in major championships for a lot of these things. This isn't a guy that's just going to pop up and disappear for the next five years. So nothing but good things to say about him, and you know, congratulations to him on this win today.

JOHN DEVER: Another guy who is not going anywhere is yourself, and we appreciate you spending all the time with us this week. Your insights are always appreciated. Best of luck going into the Playoffs, the U.S. Open and the Masters.