Tony Finau’s ‘low season’ has had lessons and 1 rare occurrence

It has been a season to forget for Tony Finau.

The six-time PGA Tour winner has made 14 of 20 cuts this year, but has just one top 10. He hasn’t been in the mix on the weekend since the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May. After missing the cut at the 3M Open, Finau arrived at this week’s Rocket Classic, an event he won in 2022, sitting at 87 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings and needing to do some work over the final two weeks to secure his postseason bid.

“I don’t know if pressure’s the right word, more than I haven’t been happy with the results, I haven’t played the way I know I can play,” Finau said on Friday at the Rocket Classic. “For whatever reason it’s been a low season for me, but I continue to stay enthusiastic about each week and the future. I feel like my future’s still bright even on a season like this.”

This “low season” comes after a winless 2025 in which he had only one top-10 finish. It has also included a first for Finau as it’s the first time since he joined the PGA Tour that he did not play in any of the four major championships.

“A lot of learning, that’s the crazy thing about this game,” Finau said. “It’s a humbling game no matter what level you play it at. A lot of learning. Continue to learn about myself and my game even in my 12th season. That’s kind of what I feel like I’ve taken out of this year.”

On Friday at Detroit Golf Club, Finau was staring at another weekend away from the course and the fact that his playoff dreams were slipping away. He started his second round on the back nine and bogeyed three of his first four holes to slip well under the cut line. But then, Finau got grinding. He made birdies at 14 and 18 to claw two shots back before the turn, then he carded back-to-back circles at Nos. 4 and 5 before chipping in for eagle on No. 8 to punch his ticket to the weekend, where he’ll start five shots back of leaders Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Patrick Fishburn.

“That was pretty special,” Finau said of his chip-in eagle. “I told my caddie walking up, ‘You know, like this is chip-in alley back here.’ Good spot to be, as good as you can have outside of being on the green. So I executed the chip shot perfect and I made an eagle.

“I needed it.”

That chip-in guaranteed Finau two more rounds at Detroit Golf Club and a chance to rise up the leaderboard and boost his spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings. Finau said he “checks” his place in the standings every week, even when he’s not playing.

That hasn’t been a fun endeavor for Finau this year.

At No. 87 in the standings, he knows he has a lot of work to do with just two tournaments left before the playoffs begin and only 70 players make the dance. That work starts this weekend in Detroit, now that Finau’s late Friday charge made it possible.

“At the end of the day, no matter where you are, if you play good golf, you’re going to get — you’re going to run through the FedExCup Playoffs,” Finau said. That’s been my experience.

“I’ve got to have two really good weeks to make it to the playoffs. That’s my goal I’m setting my sights on.”