Tony Finau is Crushing the PGA TOUR Driving Record

For anyone watching golf, you’ve had to notice the uptick in distance that has become a hot topic on the PGA TOUR. Despite attempts to limit distance, players are still destroying golf balls.

One of the players hitting the ball further than ever before is Tony Finau. Typically when you think of long drivers, names like Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, and Rory McIlory come to mind, but Finau has mostly flown under the radar because he hasn’t won as much as the other players. That could be changing soon though.

Finau is a 28-year-old player that has been on the circuit for a few years now and is the first player of Tongan and American Samoan descent to earn a PGA TOUR player card. He’s an unbelievable athlete who turned down division one scholarships for basketball to join the PGA TOUR. And he’s finally turning the corner now, as he has two runner-up finishes and has finished in the top 20 in six of his nine starts.

Tony Finau watches his tee shot on the second hole during the first…

Tony Finau watches his tee shot on the second hole during the first round of World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec on March 1, 2018 in Mexico City, Mexico. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

And what’s driving that success is actually his driving. Finau is averaging a remarkable 327 yards per drive this season, which is blowing former and current players out of the water. Further, over 90% of Finau’s drives are going over 300 yards. For reference, Dustin Johnson’s best season had him averaging about 318 yards per drive. If the average stands, Finau will hold the record for longest average driving distance in a season.

Tony Finau drives the green on the par-4 18th hole at The Barclays

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For the current season, Finau is out driving all of the competition by over 30 yards per drive. What has caused this increase in distance for Finau this year seems to be a higher launch angle. The speed of the club head has dropped for Finau but more importantly, the spin he generates has dropped as well, lowering the resistance the ball encounters.

The distance that Finau is hitting the ball is astronomical and the fact that he’s improving the rest of his game on top of that makes him a legitimate threat this season. If Finau can keep this up for the whole season, we could be looking at a Justin Thomas-esque breakout.

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