Houston Open: Tony Finau ties course record; snatches lead at Memorial Park

Tony Finau, the Houston Open defending champion, fired an incredible round at Memorial Park in Houston.

Tony Finau faced a 16-footer for birdie on the par-3 9th, his 18th hole of the day. He knew a personal record was on the line, but so was the course record at Memorial Park.

“I knew what it was for,” Finau said.

“I knew I was going to give it a run. I wasn’t going to leave it short. I knew that. I hit a good putt, and it was barely too low. I thought I hit it hard enough for it to stay on the line that it did.”

It just missed, and Finau, the defending champion of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, had to settle for an 8-under 62.

But with that, he soared up the leaderboard and grabbed the solo lead in the process.

“You just kind of take it a shot at a time; you’re not really thinking about scoring too much in that situation,” Finau said.

“I knew I was in contention, near the top of the leaderboard with a handful of holes to go, and then the putter just got hot. I hit some nice shots, but it was mostly just draining some putts from long distance. I chipped in for eagle on 8. Next thing you know, I’m like, wow, 8-under, so it’s strange how this game works, but you’re never thinking ahead too much.”

Finau, who struggled with his putting earlier in the season at Torrey Pines, looked like a wizard with the flat stick on Friday.

His first birdie make of the day came at the par-4 13th, where he poured one in from 10 feet. An easy two-putt birdie at the 16th followed. But the long-range bombs he alluded to came on his back nine when Finau’s round turned from solid to special.

A 27-foot make came at the 4th. Two holes later, a 30-footer followed.

Then, on the next hole, the par-3 7th, Finau found the middle of the green and drained another birdie from 29 feet.

He was on fire.

But the icing on the cake came at the par-5 8th, where Finau made an eagle to get to 9-under for the championship.

He feels comfortable on this golf course, yet he knows plenty of golf remains.

“Nothing really changes,” Finau said when asked about his mindset.

“I’ve played some nice golf the first couple of days, and the game’s in a good place. Just don’t overthink it. Just get some rest, be properly prepared, properly rested for the weekend.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.