MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2021

Tony Finau

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Tony Finau to the interview room this afternoon. Thank you for your time.

TONY FINAU: Pleasure to be here. Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: In your second round of your fourth Masters, you carded a 66 to now be 4-under for the tournament. You got your day jump started with a wonderful eagle at 2, and you followed it with birdies at 6, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 15. If you would, just kind of walk us through what it was like to get off to a hot start and how you carried that momentum forward from there.

TONY FINAU: Yeah, it was a lot different than yesterday, no question. I made double on 3 yesterday, and it was an uphill battle all day. I just tried to survive.

Today was a lot different. I made eagle on 2 and had good vibes going early. J.T. added to that and we fed off each other and both played really nicely today.

I think we learned a little bit about the golf course today and how firm it was. It was a little more gettable, I felt like, this morning and I was able to string together some nice golf. I took care of the par 5s. That's important around Augusta National. Stats always show the guys that do that throughout the week usually have a chance to do something pretty good. I took care of the par 5s today, and I think that was huge for me, too.

Q. You said in your time here you haven't seen it play the way yesterday was, and while it might have been easier today it was still probably pretty tough compared to -- I'm throwing out the fall, but 2019 and 2018. Can you talk about the difference you saw and how shocking it might have been?

TONY FINAU: I hit a perfect drive on 15 today, and I hit about as high an 8-iron as I can to just stop it there. It landed pin-high, and it was on the back edge of the green. And that was after a really good drive. In '18 and '19 I remember hitting 5- and 6-irons in there no problem, holding the green. It's a whole different deal this year.

Definitely I've never seen -- in my four years now, I've never seen Augusta National play this way, but I think I learned a lot yesterday. And again, it was nice to get off to a really good start and ride some of that momentum.

But some holes -- a lot of golf holes here I think you're playing for par. You're doing your best to make par. In years in the past, I felt like when the greens are a little more repetitive, you can attack a little bit more. This year was quite different. I knew I needed a good one after yesterday, and I put one together today.

Q. Some guys like it as fast and firm as they can get it and other guys don't. Are you one of the guys who likes it that way, or do you have to adjust a little bit for these kind of conditions?

TONY FINAU: Yeah I really like the conditions fast and firm. With my ball flight, I think it's a big advantage. I put plenty of spin on it. I enjoy the golf course the way it's playing -- I guess I wouldn't say enjoy, but I think it's a good setup for me.

So I don't mind the golf course playing fast and firm. It looks like the rain keeps getting pushed back (knocking on wood desk), and hopefully we're able to play some golf without too many distractions from Mother Nature.

Q. You've obviously been a top-ranked player in the world, played internationally on U.S. teams and really carved out quite a nice career. I guess that one sort of you're missing, maybe that big significant win with -- I guess your last win or only win on the Tour was five years ago in Puerto Rico. How much has that burned you to add that to your resumé, a very good resumé, except for maybe that one little missing piece?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, no question. It keeps me hungry, it keeps me humble, and I definitely know that I definitely need a big win for me to feel like -- I've had a good career up to this point. I've had a lot of close calls, and I do think I've had a really successful career, but not quite a winning career, and I think that comes from winning a big one.

For me, I think that will give me a lot of confidence. I feel like I carry a lot of confidence in these big events because I have competed at a high level in a lot of them. But I think missing that W keeps me humble and hungry, and hopefully I can notch that off this week.

Q. Is there anything you've learned from, like you say, a lot of close calls that you think you could carry through that might could get you over the hump this week?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, I've put myself there enough to know that I have to play really well just to put myself in that situation. Sundays haven't gone my way, and I think it doesn't have a lot to do with my play. Some breaks here and there, and I think, I've got 36 holes in front of me, I've got another opportunity and hopefully this week I put myself in contention on Sunday and the bounces go my way.

Q. How do you feel about the position you put yourself in heading into the weekend?

TONY FINAU: I feel really good especially after yesterday's round. A couple over wasn't really what I was looking for. I knew the golf course was playing tough. But when you see yourself nine shots back, you're like, well, how tough could it have really played. I know Justin played an amazing round, and I knew it was quite bunched right around even par, so I thought if I could at least get back to right around even par and then work from there today, I thought that would be a really good start for the weekend.

I was able to push on the gas a lot more than that, make some putts and kind of get in some mojo on the back nine. So I'm really happy with where I'm at, again, especially after yesterday's round, and we have 36 holes to go and it looks like, likely scenario, I'll be a few shots back.

Q. What I can't figure out, and maybe just being in the media we think negative, but you being hungry, and you're still a half-glass-full kind of guy, how do you keep up that strong desire and keep up a good attitude with all of the close calls and bad fortune that's come your way?

TONY FINAU: A lot of it is just who I am. I think I just compete different than most guys just in the way that I present myself, this is how I am, who I am, and I'm not someone that's going to freak out when something bad happens and I'm probably not one that's going to get too crazy when something great happens.

It seems to be that's just who I am, that's how I compete. I know how I feel like I compete at my best, and I try to do that every time I play. I try to be as much of me as I can, really. I'm not going to change who I am to get different results, maybe I should, but I think good things are on the horizon. I just have to think that way because that's how I am.

Q. You did go crazy at the Par 3 a couple years ago?

TONY FINAU: I was pretty ecstatic about that. No question. Brings back some good memories and it ended up being a good week, so I was happy about it.

Q. For everybody that's playing on the weekend, but for the people at the top of the leaderboard in particular, how large does the 12th loom as a challenge?

TONY FINAU: Can you repeat that?

Q. For everybody, but particularly the people on the leaderboard going into the weekend, how large does the 12th hole loom as a challenge that has to be overcome?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, it's a big challenge, 11 and 12. I would say both of those holes are a big challenge coming down the stretch. When you get on 13, you can make some things happen but you have to get past 11 and 12 without making a double-bogey or even a bogey or any dropped shots.

I was in a scenario in 2019 where I was in a great position to put myself in a great position starting on 13 with my length, and I wasn't able to execute there.

So I know how big kind of that stretch of golf is, and I definitely think it's looming in anyone's mind when you get to that tee on how important it will be on Saturday and Sunday.

Q. Sorry if I'm making this up, but were you looking at the hole when you were putting yesterday and were you not doing that today?

TONY FINAU: I was looking at the hole yesterday and I think I only looked at the hole a few times today. I'm just going by feel. I don't know what I'm looking at, what I'm not. But yeah, you're not making it up. I definitely looked at the hole a lot more times yesterday than I did today. I think I still did it a couple times today.

Q. Is that something you've been experimenting for a while or you've been doing for a while?

TONY FINAU: No, I haven't been experimenting with that. Just on Wednesday, putter didn't feel great in my hands. Talked over it with my coach and freed up a little bit, on some of those short ones, the closer we get to the hole, especially as professionals, we expect to make those putts, five, six, seven feet.

So I didn't feel as free as I wanted, so my coach just said, "Well, why don't you just look at the hole." I started doing that, and it just started bleeding right into the tournament. I didn't have a game plan for it but it seems to have freed me up.

Q. You have great power and length and on the leaderboards. Most players are considered more like precision players at the moment. You and J.T. and Cameron Champ have the advantage in length, but I wonder -- you talked about spinning the ball with your irons. Do you feel like your power is still to your advantage even in these conditions?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, accuracy -- power is still a big advantage around Augusta no matter what, but accuracy is more important this week than any Masters I've played in because of how firm the greens are.

Yesterday I drove it pretty good actually, but I hit it in the first cut three or four times. And when you don't know how the ball is going to come out of the first cut, it's really important to know what kind of spin you're putting on the greens just because of how firm they are.

Accuracy is huge. So I'm not surprised to look at the leaderboard and see guys like Rosey, Justin up there, Zalatoris, Brian Harman, I'm not surprised to see those guys up there. They are all precision players and that's going to serve them well this week. If you hit it in the short grass, which you have to this week, you're probably going to have a good chance.

Q. Do you feel capable of that yourself?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, no question. I think I've proved to myself no matter the type of golf course, when I'm playing well, I can compete on any course and obviously this week, at least today, a lot better and hopefully continue more of that good golf this weekend.

Q. Where does that final round with Tiger rank for you, and do you look at it as a positive or missed opportunity for yourself?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think a little bit of both. A positive in that it was only my second Masters and to have had a really legitimate chance on that back nine to just taste what that is and what that feels like just in my second Masters I think is going to serve me well.

But it was a little bitter just because I did feel like I might have let one slip because of how good I felt that week and specifically on this Sunday on that back nine, my game was in a good place, felt like my mind was in a good place, and didn't execute that shot on 12 and that ended up being the turnaround for me on the week.

But a little bit of both. Again, I think a part of it keeps me hungry and striving to put myself in that position again and see if I've learned from it and gotten better. And then another one, you know, hopefully I have learned from it and I know what it feels like and I know what it tastes like around Augusta National a Sunday.

I don't know that I'll ever play in another Masters where all eyes are going to be on me and on our group. I knew that was the case that Tiger. So for me, I still look at it as probably more of a positive and in a positive light because I know what it tastes like, I know what it feels like to be in that situation. Hopefully I've learned from that and when I'm in that situation again, I'll execute better.

THE MODERATOR: Tony, thank you so much for your time and best of luck this weekend.