JERSEY CITY, NJ: Tony Finau finished more than five years and 142 unbeaten tournaments with a dynamic load in the last nine and a big foul by Cameron Smith to capture the rain-delayed Northern Trust in a playoff Monday.
Finau ran out of three shots when he ran a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch at Liberty National, the last one, a 30-foot putt across the 14th green. He closed with a player under 65.
Smith had his own rally with two late birds, losing a 25-foot birdie opportunity on the 18th in the regulation that would have won him. He closed with a 67.
It was as close as the Australian came to win.
On the 18th, in the playoffs, Smith hit with such a wild momentum that he overcame the retaining wall separating Liberty National from the banks of the Hudson River. Finau had already hit his run through the center of the fairway and the playoff at that time had effectively ended.
This is what Finau needed: no drama, and most importantly, a victory.
Since winning the Puerto Rico Open in the spring of 2016, Finau has scored eight runners-up, three in the playoffs and 11 in the top three.
Now, one of golf’s friendliest players moves to the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings, with a week to go between six automatic qualifiers. Even if he fails to do so, it will be difficult for US captain Steve Stricker to keep him off the team.
He was the guy who did everything right, but he won, and now that burden has been lifted.
Finau, who had to save the pair from the bunker with a 6-foot putt on the 18th in regulation to finish 20-for-264, only had to make two for the pair in the playoffs.
He raised his head to the sky and patted his lips in pure relief.
“It took almost everything I had,” he said.
And he needed a little help from Smith, who two weeks ago missed the chance to win a World Golf Championship with a wild push on the 18th.
Jon Rahm also contributed.
Rahm seemed to be in control all afternoon, even when Finau was starting his big career. World No. 1 player had no bogey, birdie all three pars 5 and threw a 3-foot wedge for another birdie.
But it quickly fell apart. Rahm’s shot found the bunker on the 15th and missed a 6-foot putt putt. The par-4 who reached 16, caught a ball with a throw that sailed 30 feet down the pin and cost him an easy birdie.
He did not take another look at the little bird over the two final holes, saving the torque of a bunker on the 17th and having to stretch out of a fairway bunker on the 18th, where he closed with a bogey and a 69 to finish alone in third. .
“I couldn’t digest it,” Rahm said after his round. “My son put a smile on my face so that at least I wasn’t in a terrible mood.”
On Monday there were other big winners, starting with Keith Mitchell. He was at number 101 in the FedEx Cup and only advanced to the top 70 in the BMW Championship. Mitchell needed a great finish and delivered with three birdies followed by a 69 to tie for eighth with 13 under 271.
“We thought 13 (minors) were good,” Mitchell said. “When I had this putt on the 18th, I had to keep that in mind. Luckily, I got a great putt.”
Tom Hoge started at number 108 and tied for fourth place to advance. This was his best end of the year and he arrived at the right time with points to count for four.
At the end of this week, they also went to the BMW Championship Alex Noren, Erik van Rooyen, Harold Varner III and Harry Higgs. Van Rooyen was in contention for the new striker until he hit two shots in the water at par-3 11 and made a quadruple bogey 7.
Finau had 20 low goals all along, and caddy Mark Urbanek in turn told him to deliver his best back nine of the year. He fired 30, and that turned out to be enough.
The final round was postponed on Sunday as Hurricane Henri approached, and the edges of what became a tropical storm on land threw more than 6 inches of rain at Liberty National. There was another four-hour delay in the morning and spectators stayed away.
They missed an entire show and won popularly.