Finau Earns Ryder Cup Nod, Now Turns To FedEx Cup Final

Tony Finau has experienced a great breakout season this year, which he has translated into many accolades. Now, he looks to cap off the year with a FedEx Cup victory.

With the announcement Tuesday that Finau had earned the final spot for the U.S. Ryder Cup team,  many thought he should have earned a long time ago. He beat out the hot pursuit of Xander Schauffele, who has been dominating the PGA TOUR the last few months. He’ll now take his talents to Paris at the end of the month.

Until then, however, Finau is on a mission to win the FedEx Cup. He, along with Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas, have an opportunity to win the $10 million prize by winning at this week’s Tour Championship. But Finau could also win in other scenarios that make for perhaps the strangest paths to victory ever.

Tony Finau of the United States walks from the first tee during the…

Tony Finau of the United States walks from the first tee during the third round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on September 8, 2018 in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Finau has the possibility to win the FedEx Cup without winning a single tournament this season. That has obviously never been done in the FedEx Cup era and probably would never happen again. Finau can do this because he’s racked up so many points through his 11 top-ten finishes on the season on top of his top-ten finishes in the first two events of the playoffs.

For Finau to accomplish this feat, he would need to finish in 2nd place this week while Rose and DeChambeau finish outside of the top-12. At that point, it wouldn’t matter what DJ or JT does. There are also scenarios where Finau can win with as low as a T-3rd. This would be a remarkable feat for Finau, who has only won a single tournament in 2016 and would certainly call for reforms to the playoff process.

Depending on if you like chaos or the status quo, will tell you if you want Finau to win in this way this weekend. For the sake of the PGA TOUR, however, I’m sure they would much rather see an outright winner who takes home the title with a win at the Tour Championship. This event will certainly be one to watch.

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