HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) — Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a 4-under 66 for a three-stroke victory.
Finau, the 24-year-old Salt Lake City player who turned pro at 17, had a tournament-record 22-under 258 total at TPC Stonebrae and earned $108,000 to jump from 24th to eighth on the money list with $238,125. The top 25 after the final four regular-season events will earn 2014-15 PGA Tour cards.
“I’m overwhelmed,” the long-hitting Finau said. “”I got a little bit of goosebumps walking up the 18th fairway just thinking about how far I’ve come the past few years. … It definitely wasn’t easy coming down the stretch but I had a lot of fun. I was proud of how I stayed in the moment. I kept telling myself that the most important shot is the next one.”
Zack Sucher, the Midwest Classic winner last week in Kansas, had a 66 to tie for second with Fabian Gomez and Daniel Berger. Gomez, from Argentina, finished with a 68. He had a 60 in the second round. Berger also closed with a 68.
Finau’s biggest challenge came at the 315-yard 14th, easily reachable for player who averaged 329 yards off the tee. But using driver, he yanked his shot into a tree at the end of the teeing ground.
“It didn’t go 20 yards,” Finau said. “The ball wound up in some big weeds, but I could get a club on the next one.”
He popped a 6-iron down the fairway, hit a wedge from 90 yards to 7 feet and made the par putt.
“That was huge,” Finau said. “There’s no telling what could have gone through my mind if I had messed up that hole.”
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