Five strokes with eleven holes to play is not a lead. It is an invitation.
On a breezy Sunday in Minnesota, Tony Finau claimed his third PGA Tour title not by outrunning the field, but by waiting as the mountain came to him. With eleven holes remaining and five strokes between himself and the lead, Finau played steady golf while Scott Piercy — who had built one of the tournament's most commanding 54-hole positions — unraveled across the back nine at TPC Twin Cities. The 3M Open became a meditation on the fragility of advantage and the patience required to receive what fortune occasionally offers.
- Piercy entered Sunday with a tournament-record 54-hole score and a four-stroke lead, looking every bit like a man who had already won.
- A catastrophic triple bogey on the par-5 14th — bunker, water, rough, and a ball that stopped three inches short — handed Finau the lead he had no right to expect.
- Seven bogeys in eleven holes turned Piercy's coronation into a collapse, one of the more stunning reversals the tour has seen this season.
- Finau navigated his own late drama — a grandstand ricochet on 17, a tee shot in the water on 18 — with the composure of someone who had already accepted the chaos.
- He finished at 17-under, three clear of the field, vaulting from 30th to 17th in the FedEx Cup standings with the playoffs approaching.
Tony Finau finished at 17-under par at TPC Twin Cities on Sunday, winning the 3M Open by three strokes with a final-round 67 — but the number tells only part of the story. With eleven holes remaining, he trailed by five. What followed was less a charge than a quiet inheritance.
Scott Piercy had been extraordinary through 54 holes, posting a tournament-record score after rounds of 65 and 64, enduring a six-and-a-half-hour weather delay on Saturday with enough composure to remove his right shoe between swings and still hold a four-stroke lead. In his first 61 holes, he had made just three bogeys. Then the back nine on Sunday arrived, and something gave way.
The decisive moment came at the par-5 14th. A bunker off the tee, a failed escape, a ball in the water, a recovery into the rough, and a putt that stopped three inches short — a triple bogey that handed Finau the lead for good. Piercy would card seven bogeys in his final eleven holes and finish with a 76, tied for fourth.
Finau, calm and unhurried, made a 31-foot birdie putt on 15 to tighten his grip. On 17, his tee shot caromed off a grandstand, rolled near the water's edge, and he chipped to within a foot for par, pressing his hand to his chest in mock relief. On 18, he put his tee shot in the water, took the penalty, and made a 3-footer for bogey to close it out — pumping his fist and walking off to his family.
Sungjae Im and Emiliano Grillo tied for second at 15-under. The victory moved Finau from 30th to 17th in the FedEx Cup standings, a timely surge with the playoffs ahead. In a sport where leads dissolve and composure compounds, Sunday at TPC Twin Cities was a reminder that five strokes with eleven holes remaining is not a fortress. It is, at best, a suggestion.
Tony Finau walked off the 18th green at TPC Twin Cities on Sunday with his fist pumped and his cap in hand, having just sealed his third career PGA Tour victory in the most unlikely of circumstances. He finished at 17-under par, 267 for the tournament, three strokes clear of the field after a final round of 4-under 67. What made the victory remarkable was not the score itself but the arithmetic of how he got there: he had trailed by five strokes with eleven holes remaining, watching from the group behind as Scott Piercy, the 54-hole leader, began to unravel in the Minnesota wind.
Piercy's collapse was swift and brutal. The 43-year-old from Las Vegas had arrived at Sunday with a tournament-record 54-hole score, having shot 65 and 64 to build a commanding lead. He had endured a six-and-a-half-hour weather delay on Saturday—so uncomfortable that he removed his right shoe after each swing and walked in his sock to the next shot—and still held a four-stroke advantage heading into the final round. But on Sunday, something broke. After reaching 20-under par through just six holes, Piercy's game fractured. In his first 61 holes of the tournament, he had posted only three bogeys. Over his final eleven holes, he carded seven.
The turning point came at the par-5 14th, where Piercy's tee shot found the fairway bunker. His sand wedge failed to escape the sand. Desperate to recover, he attempted a risky approach from the bunker, but the ball splashed into the water short and left of the green. After taking his drop, he hit into the rough, then watched his next attempt stop three inches short of the cup. The triple bogey—a 7 on the hole—handed Finau the lead for good. Piercy would finish with a 76, tying for fourth place, four strokes back.
Finau, the 6-foot-4 Utah player in his white hat and aqua-striped polo, played with the calm of a man who sensed opportunity. He made a 31-foot putt for birdie on the 15th to strengthen his grip. On the par-3 17th, his tee shot clanged off the side of the grandstand, ricocheted back onto the green, and rolled into the rough near the water's edge. Most players would have held their breath. Finau landed a perfect chip within a foot of the hole, made the par, and smiled slightly, playfully clamping his hand to his chest as if the sequence had nearly stopped his heart.
The 18th, a daunting par-5, presented one final test. Finau's tee shot found the water, forcing a penalty stroke. But his recovery was precise. With Piercy watching from the fairway, Finau made a 3-footer for bogey to seal the victory. He pumped his fist several times, removed his cap, and walked off to embrace his family.
Sungjae Im and Emiliano Grillo tied for second place at 15-under par, with Im shooting 68 and Grillo 71. James Hahn surged up the leaderboard with a final-round 65 to tie Piercy and Tom Hoge at 13-under. Grillo, who had tied for second at the John Deere Classic three weeks earlier, also suffered a triple bogey—a 7 on the seventh hole—that ultimately proved costly.
Finau's victory moved him from 30th to 17th in the FedEx Cup standings, positioning him well for the playoff races ahead. He had tied for third at the 3M Open in 2020 and entered this week ranked 17th in the world. The comeback, the precision under pressure, and the way Piercy's lead evaporated in real time made this one of the week's most dramatic reversals—a reminder that in golf, five strokes with eleven holes to play is not a lead. It is an invitation.
Citações Notáveis
Piercy had posted only three bogeys in his first 61 holes but carded seven bogeys in his final eleven holes— Tournament scoring summary
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What was the moment when you realized Piercy was actually going to fall apart?
Honestly, it was the triple bogey on 14. Before that, you could tell he was uncomfortable—bogeys here and there—but a triple bogey is different. That's when you know something has shifted. He was playing scared after that.
Finau was five back with eleven to play. That's a huge deficit in golf. How does someone even think about that?
You don't think about it as five back. You think about the next shot. You play your game, and you watch what happens in front of you. When Piercy started making mistakes, Finau was already in position. He wasn't chasing. He was just playing.
The shot on 17—the one that hit the grandstand—that could have been a disaster.
That's the thing about Finau that day. He had this almost eerie calm. The ball ricochets back onto the green, he's in the rough near water, and instead of panicking, he hits a perfect chip. He knew what he was doing.
Piercy had a tournament record after 54 holes. How do you go from that to a 76?
The wind was brutal, and mentally, once you start making mistakes, it compounds. He was at 20-under through six holes on Sunday. He had the lead. But golf doesn't care about what you did yesterday. It only cares about what you do today.
Did Finau's victory feel inevitable by the end?
By the 18th, yes. He was in control. Even when he hit it in the water, you felt like he had it handled. Piercy was watching from the fairway, and Finau made the putt. That's when you knew it was over.