BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

August 27, 2020

Tony Finau

Olympia Fields Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Tony, how would you characterize your round?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, it was good. My putter saved me on quite a few holes. Man, the golf course is playing tough right now. You've got to hit the fairways and it doesn't end there. You've got to hit the greens and it doesn't end there with the wind and the amount of slope on these greens and the speed. It keeps you on your heels it seems like all day.

I was happy to just finish at even par after the first round.

Q. Did it feel like a U.S. Open out there a little bit?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. I just mentioned that talking to a couple guys, and even yesterday, I felt like I was preparing for a major championship, namely the U.S. Open. I love the way the golf course is playing, extremely tough. You've got to -- you're not going to hack it around here and score. You've really got to play golf, and yeah, I enjoyed that today.

Q. I just want to get your reaction to the NBA and MLB postponing games. Just kind of your reaction to that situation.

TONY FINAU: Yeah, I mean, anyone that's willing to have the uncomfortable conversation about systemic racism and just that in general in our country I think is a healthy thing for all of us. We continue to learn from each other in a positive way I think is the most important thing, and we all have different perspectives as we go through our life. Listening to each other I think is a big deal, so they took a stand for what they think is the right thing, and as a society I think it's our responsibility to just listen and pay attention to what's going on around us, and if we're willing to have those uncomfortable conversations, I think our country can continue to move forward.

Q. Was there any thought by you today to not play?

TONY FINAU: No, it didn't really cross my mind, but I understood the magnitude of what the NBA was doing and what they were boycotting for, and I know the PGA TOUR is in full support of that, and again, it's a conversation that's uncomfortable, sensitive for our country, but if we're not willing to have those, I don't think we can move forward as a country. I'm open to having a conversation with anybody on the issue, and again, I think we're in full support of what the NBC has done.

Q. Would you have been surprised if you had seen anybody on TOUR this weekend not decide to play today because of what happened?

TONY FINAU: No, I don't think I would have been surprised. Yeah, I don't think I would have been surprised if somebody decided to not play in support and boycott maybe playing the first round or boycott the BMW Championship. There's a lot of sports leagues that have done that. Our TOUR has taken the position that we support, that we're going to continue to play. We make a huge -- we do a lot of good in this area, and we have for over 100 years, so to take that away I think is a big deal for us, and that's why I think we continue to play.