Houston Open: Tony Finau continues winning habit as he takes clear victory; ‘I’m putting together a full-package game’ | Golf News

Tony Finau cruises through to win the Cadence Bank Houston Open on 16 under; Tyson Alexander was four shots behind in second place; England’s Ben Taylor was third on 11 under; “I’ve always had belief, but confidence when you win is contagious,” Finau said

Tony Finau added another victory to his name at the Houston Open

Tony Finau cruised to a third PGA Tour victory of the year as he won the Cadence Bank Houston Open on Sunday.

With three bogeys that only affected the margin of his victory, the American closed with a one-under 69 and won by four strokes.

Such consistency used to be hard for Finau to find. He won only once in his first 185 tournaments on joining the PGA Tour. Now he has four in the last 30 tournaments, including three in this calendar year.

Finau watches his putt on the ninth green for a birdie

“I’ve always had belief, but confidence when you win is contagious,” Finau said. “I’m starting to put together a full-package game.”

It certainly showed over the four days at Memorial Park.

Finau seized control with a 62 in the second round ahead of the change in weather and was superb in his bogey-free round of 68 in Saturday’s cold and wind. No one came close to catching him on Sunday.

He finished at 16-under 264 and started the new season with a win which moves him to No 12 in the world rankings.

PGA Tour rookie Tyson Alexander came second. Alexander made a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 66 and moved out of a tied position to be the sole runner-up. That was worth enough FedExCup points that he should almost certainly qualify for the post-season next summer.

“Great week for me,” Alexander said. “I wish Tony would have taken the week off!”

England’s Ben Taylor missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 70 and finished third.

Finau had started this round with a wide lead. When he rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the second hole, he quickly continued to pull ahead of the field.

He then holed a seven-foot birdie putt on the fifth, made a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-five eighth and capped off the front nine with a 20-foot birdie putt.

That gave him an eight-shot lead, and from there it was matter of staying upright.

“It was one of those days I fought and fought, and I made a lot of nice putts that calmed me,” Finau said. “I’ve never been in this position. I had a lot of nerves. Overall, as the round went on, I felt better. I was happy to get the W today.”

He did not make a bogey until the 10th hole, and then he dropped two more shots along the back nine from a bunker and with a long three-putt. Even so, no one ever got closer than the four-shot margin at the end of the round.

Alex Noren of Sweden had a 68 and tied for fourth to move to No 45 in the world. He will need to stay in the top 50 by the end of the year for any hope of a Masters invitation.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler closed with a 67 and tied for ninth. He needed a win to replace Rory McIlroy at No 1 in the world.

McIlroy is playing next week in Dubai to wrap up the DP World Tour season, while Scheffler will next play at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, a 20-man field that offers world ranking points.