HOUSTON – Defending champion Tony Finau caught fire towards the end of his round, posting an eight-under 62 to grab the 36-hole lead at the Houston Open on March 29 at Memorial Park Golf Course.
After starting his day with three birdies on the back nine and making the turn with a bogey at No. 1, he rolled in birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 6 and 7 before a perfectly read chip-in eagle at the par-five eighth to go out in five-under 30.
“You just kind of take it a shot at a time, you’re not really thinking about score too much in that situation,” the 34-year-old said.
“I knew I was in contention, near the top of the leaderboard with a handful of holes there to go and then the putter just got hot. I hit some nice shots, but it was mostly just draining some long putts.”
It marked the American’s second round of 62 in Houston. He also shot that number in the second round in November 2022, when he won the event.
Finau reached nine-under 131 for the tournament. Argentina’s Alejandro Tosti made a 30-foot birdie at his last hole, the par-three ninth, to polish off a 67 and take second place at seven under. Belgium’s Thomas Detry carded a 64 and is alone in third at six under.
Finau had his putter to thank for most of his birdies down the stretch. He drained a left-to-right 27-footer at the fourth hole, a tough right-to-left 30-footer at the sixth and another 30-footer at the par-three seventh to take the outright lead.
Once unable to break through at a standard-field PGA Tour event, world No. 30 Finau now has six titles, five coming in the past three years.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s streak of under-par rounds came to an end.
He was left in a group of six tied for fourth on five under, after three-putting from six feet for a double-bogey six on the 18th that saw him card a 70.
The final-hole stumble ended his sequence of 28 consecutive under-par rounds to start 2024, a run which was the longest on record since 1983 according to the PGA Tour.
“I’m obviously a touch frustrated with how I finished, but overall I’m still in the middle of the tournament,” the 27-year-old said.
On the LPGA Tour, Australia’s Hannah Green went from under the weather to on top of the leaderboard on March 29, reeling off six straight birdies to cap an 11-under 61 to grab the lead at the Ford Championship in Arizona. She hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 25 putts.
The career-low round leaves her at 14-under 130, one stroke ahead of American Sarah Schmelzel and Chinese Taipei’s Chien Pei-yun, who shot 63 and 65 respectively, at Seville Golf and Country Club.
“I wasn’t really feeling that great overnight. Kind of have a bit of a runny nose and sore throat, so wasn’t expecting that much, which is maybe a good thing,” said Green, who is eyeing her second title of the month after her triumph at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda (68) is in a group of 12 players level at 10 under, tied for 10th place. REUTERS, AFP
