The Truist Championship is finely poised heading into the final round on Sunday, and Tony Finau definitely still has a chance to win.
Finau finished up on eight-under-par after day three at the Truist Championship, following his third round 67, and he sits six shots adrift of joint leaders Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka.
This week has given golf fans their first glimpse of Philadelphia Cricket Club as a PGA Tour venue.
The A. W. Tillinghast gem, situated in Philadelphia, is not like any other course we see on the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy suggested that the course needs another 500-600 yards added in order to make it play like it was designed to over a century ago.
There are other ways to make a golf course more challenging, but that’s a debate for another day.
The fact that 14-under-par is leading after three days says a lot. It’s not exactly the ‘million under par’ that was sarcastically being predicted earlier in the week is it?
Tony Finau gives Philadelphia Cricket Club verdict after day three at the Truist Championship
Finau was actually linked with a move to LIV Golf towards the end of last year, but he is obviously still very much a PGA Tour player.
Despite his patchy form, the 35-year-old is still a huge draw due to his affable nature and explosive power with his driver in hand.
Finau is a real fan favourite, and he gave the galleries at Philadelphia Cricket Club plenty to cheer about on Saturday.
After his round, the man from Salt Lake City was asked by reporters to give his honest opinion on the A. W. Tillinghast track.
He said, “Yeah, I got off to a really nice start. I feel like I played solid, got a little rough there in the middle. I made a double on 8. I thought 9 and 10 were huge for me today. I was able to bounce back on 9 with a birdie out of the bunker, which felt like an eagle.
“This week I feel like the hazards are the sand. I doubled 8 and hit into the lip of a bunker on 9. Could be more trouble, but I was able to manage and birdie 9. Then I got up-and-down from the bunker on 10. I just thought momentum-wise that was huge. Then I was able to make a run towards the end and kind of found myself right there in contention.”
“It’s a good golf course, proper test. Yesterday was obviously tough. The later you played, the harder it was. I felt like you had to deal with more rain and wind. Today was windy, so I feel like the golf course is kind of holding its own. There were some really good scores, but overall a proper test of golf. I think it’s going to be a good one tomorrow.”
What Rory McIlroy actually said about Philadelphia Cricket Club
McIlroy received plenty of criticism for his comments about Philly Cricket club earlier this week.
The Masters champion spoke to reporters after his second round and suggested that he would have liked the course to be longer.
He said, “Yeah, absolutely. It’s a little more strategic. Even today, heavier air, rain, a bit of wind. I draw back on a few holes and then I hit driver on a couple.
“It is — I mean, I think there’s a lot of debate about it, but if the golf ball just went a little shorter, this course would be awesome. Not that it isn’t awesome anyway, but right now for the distances we hit it, it’s probably 500 or 600 yards too short.
“Yeah, it would be amazing to be able to play courses like this the way the architect wanted you to play them. So, yeah, like it does, it gives you a better appreciation when you play them in these conditions for sure.“
How about cut the fairways in around the 300-320 yard mark and grow the rough so it’s deep and gnarly.
How about making the greens smaller like they are at the RBC Heritage? It’s no coincidence that Harbour Town Links gives the players all sorts of problems despite being incredibly short by today’s standards.
I really don’t think that lengthening these wonderful old golf courses is the way to go. I’m not keen on the idea of a golf ball rollback either.
Something has to change though. As far as I’m concerned, bringing more hazards into play would worry the world’s best golfers far more than another 500 yards on the scorecard would.
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