Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Finau fights off defending champ Rose in Shanghai

1023855
1023855
minus
plus

Shanghai: Justin Rose will have one more day to try to catch leader Tony Finau after the American fought off a challenge from the defending champion in the third round of the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament. Finau grinded out a hard-fought two-under 70 to end Saturday at 13 under par overall, three strokes ahead of playing partners Rose and Masters champion Patrick Reed, who also each carded a 70. Joining Reed and Rose at 10-under was American Xander Schauffele, who posted a 69.


Finau, who teed off with a three-stroke lead, is known on the tour for his upbeat approach to the game, and it came in handy after he surrendered the leaderboard to the English world number three Rose with two bogeys on a shaky front nine at Shanghai’s Sheshan International Golf Club.


“There was no need to panic. Just play some good golf coming down the stretch and I was able to do that,” Finau said.


“I feel like my attitude is like this a lot. Never too up, never too down, at least for the most part. It usually serves me well in this game.”


Two strokes behind Rose on the back nine, Finau closed strong with birdies on the last three holes, highlighted by what he called a “perfect” iron off the tee on the 212-yard par-3 17th that set up a kick-in for birdie.


“That was my best stuff there. Any time you can have a kick-in on a hole like that when you’re just trying to make a three, it’s a big bonus,” he said.


Finau, of Samoan and Tongan descent, is the first player of that ancestry on the PGA Tour and the first Polynesian to play in the Ryder Cup, where he provided a rare bright spot as a USA captain’s pick in last month’s crushing loss to Europe.


His only PGA win so far was the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. But his star has risen, with 11 top-10 finishes in 2018, including at three majors, and his Ryder Cup performance. He is currently the world number 17. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon