Tony Finau is skipping the inaugural edition of the Black Desert Championship this week for his coaching duties. The American will not tee off this week for the PGA Tour event, as he will be occupied with his responsibilities as a coach of junior golfers.
Tony Finau is the assistant coach for the Thanksgiving Point All-Stars team, who are slated to compete at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship. The competition is scheduled to take place this week from October 10 to 13 at Fields Ranch West in Frisco, Texas.
Meanwhile, the Black Desert Championship will also start with its first round on Thursday, October 10, and conclude with the finale on Sunday, October 13, in Utah.
Finau will be at the junior event, helping young golfers. The 35-year-old opened up about his dilemma of participating in either event at the 2024 Presidents Cup, saying:
“It was a tough decision but it really wasn’t a decision at all. I’m committed to being a coach and I’ve got to help coach the team.”
Meanwhile, the Black Desert Championship features a stellar field, including Keith Mitchell, Seamus Power, and Kurt Kitayama. It’s a regular PGA Tour event, featuring a full-size field.
Here are some of the top-ranked players competing at the 2024 Black Desert Championship, along with their odds to win the event (via CBS Sports):
- Keith Mitchell +1600
- Kurt Kitayama +2500
- Beau Hossler +2800
- Seamus Power +3000
- Chris Kirk +3000
- Patrick Rodgers +3300
- J.J. Spaun +3500
- Patrick Fishburn +3500
- Chan Kim +3500
- Ben Griffin +3500
- Michael Thorbjornsen +3500
- Stephan Jaeger +3500
- Harry Hall +3500
- Erik van Rooyen +3500
- Ryan Fox +3500
- Lucas Glover +4000
- Andrew Novak +4000
- Emiliano Grillo +4500
- Harris English +4500
- Adam Svensson +4500
- Doug Ghim +5000
- Matti Schmid +5000
- Matt McCarty +5000
- Kevin Yu +5000
- Justin Lower +5500
- Mac Meissner +5500
- Jacob Bridgeman +5500
- Rico Hoey +6000
- Bud Cauley +6000
- Daniel Berger +6000
- Patton Kizzire +6000
- Alex Smalley +6500
- Chandler Phillips +7000
- Vince Whaley +7500
- Max McGreevy +7500
- Nick Taylor +7500
- Zac Blair +7500
- C.T. Pan +7500
- Nick Hardy +8000
- Cameron Champ +8000
- Justin Suh +8000
- Mark Hubbard +8000
- Ben Kohles +8000
- Michael Kim +8000
A look into Tony Finau’s performance in 2024
Tony Finau has competed in 22 PGA Tour events in 2024 and has made the cut in 20 of them. He has had a decent season this year. Although the Utah-born star did not clinch any victory, he was the runner-up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
Moreover, he also had five top-10 finishes, including T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open, T2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, T8 at the Memorial Tournament, T3 at the U.S. Open, and T5 at the Travelers Championship.
He finished in 23rd place in the FedEx Cup standings after the Tour Championship and secured his card for the 2025 season on the circuit. Finau earned $5,706,467 from the PGA Tour in 2024.
Edited by Neelabhra Roy
