VALLARTA, Mexico — Tony Finau never gave Masters champion Jon Rahm or anyone else much of a chance Sunday, closing with a bogey-free round of 5-under 66 that gave him a three-shot victory in the Mexico Open.
Finau earned a small measure of redemption at Vallarta Vidanta, where last year he finished runner-up to Rahm by one shot. Finau took a two-shot lead into the final round and was never seriously challenged on the back nine.
“Rahmbo is the best. I knew I was going to have my hands full to the end,” said Finau, who finished at 24-under 260.
Turns out Rahm wasn’t his biggest threat.
Full-field scores from the Mexico Open at Vidanta
Brandon Wu, also a runner-up last year, holed a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 sixth hole and made a short birdie on the next hole to briefly tie for the lead. Finau answered with a birdie on the seventh, and then Wu fell back with a bogey from the bunker on No. 8 and a tee shot into the water on the 10th that led to double bogey.
“Just a few too many loose swings,” Wu said after a 68 to finish third. “Satisfied with how I went today. I’m glad I gave myself a chance through nine holes.”
Rahm closed with a 67 and certainly had his chances. He was three behind Finau at the turn, but failed to birdie two of the par 5s with a poor drive on the 12th and a poor approach on the 14th that kept him from reasonable birdie chances.
“It was a day where I didn’t do much wrong, but I didn’t do much right, either,” he said.
The Spaniard’s last hope was on the 16th hole. Finau hit his approach into the bunker and Rahm hit a 7-iron into the same bunker. Both made par, and at that point, Rahm simply ran out of holes.
“I feel like if I hit that second shot on 16 on the green and give myself a real look at birdie, Tony’s up-and-down gets significantly more difficult,” Rahm said.
Akshay Bhatia, the 21-year-old who has special temporary membership, faded to a 70 and finished fourth.
Finau now has two victories this season — his other was in the Houston Open last fall — to join Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa as the only multiple winners on tour this season. He now has four PGA Tour titles in the last nine months.
4 wins in his last 18 starts 🏆@TonyFinauGolf is back in the winner's circle @MexicoOpenGolf. pic.twitter.com/vGOvN2kNjb
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 30, 2023
Finau’s sixth career PGA Tour victory was worth $1,386,000. He also moved to No. 11 in the world.
Finau did his best work on the front nine. He left a bunker shot in the sand on the sixth hole and managed to get up-and-down for par. On the eighth hole, another bunker shot from a tough lie didn’t quite reach the green, and he holed a 15-foot putt from the fringe for par.
Rahm was playing for the second time in three weeks since winning the Masters. He is skipping the Wells Fargo Championship — his one opt-out from elevated events with a $20 million purse — and will have a two-week break going into the PGA Championship.
Finau, who went more than five years between his first and second wins on the PGA Tour, now has multiple wins in back-to-back seasons.
“Obviously I wanted to win, but it’s a reminder that everybody out here is a great player,” Rahm said. “Tony came out with a two-shot lead and played fantastic golf. I feel like had I been able to pressure him a little more, we would have seen more birdies from Tony.”