BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – Tony Finau shot a 4-under 67 to win the 3M Open by three strokes Sunday, erasing a five-stroke deficit with 11 holes remaining when Scott Piercy fell from the lead down the stretch at the windy TPC. Twin Cities
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Piercy followed his tournament-record 54-hole score with a gut-wrenching 76 to tie for fourth, four shots back.
Finau finished with a 17-under 267. Sungjae Im (68) and Emiliano Grillo (71) tied for second. James Hahn got on the board with a 65 to match Piercy and Tom Hoge (70) at 13 under.
Piercy bogeyed four of six holes before a triple-bogey implosion on No. 14, allowing Finau, who was playing the previous three, to take over for good on his way to his third career win.
Finau holed a 31-foot birdie putt on the 15th green to tighten his grip on the lead, as the 6-foot-4 Utah player walked with poise and confidence around the TPC Twin Cities course in his white hat and his polo shirt with aqua stripes.
Finau’s surest sign of the day came on No. 17. His tee shot ricocheted off the side of the fairway, bounced onto the green and rolled into the rough just feet from the water . He landed the perfect chip a foot short of the hole for a par 3, then smiled slightly as he playfully held his hand to his chest as if pretending the sequence was giving him heart trouble.
On the bewildering par-5 18th, Finau found the water off the tee for one last challenge. After the penalty kick, his recovery shots were on target. With Piercy watching from the fairway, Finau made a 3-footer for bogey to seal it. He pumped his fist several times, took off his cap and left to hug his family.
Finau, who tied for third at the 3M Open in 2020, jumped from 30th to 17th in the FedExCup career He entered the week ranked 17th in the world.
Piercy shared the first-round lead with Im on Thursday after a 65 and pulled away from the pack on Friday with a 64 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend.
The 43-year-old from Las Vegas, who still makes his hometown his home base, extended his lead to four strokes after enduring a 6 1/2-hour delay Saturday to let rain and lightning pass. His foot was bothering him so much that he started taking off his right shoe after each swing and walking in the sock to the next lie.
That was nothing compared to the routine he encountered on Sunday. He was 20 under after six holes. Less than an hour later, Piercy was in trouble. After posting just three bogeys in his first 61 holes, he went over par in seven of his last 11. That included the 7 he bogeyed on No. 14.
Piercy’s tee shot landed in the fairway bunker, and his sand wedge didn’t clear it from the sand. With a risky, final approach to get back on the fairway, his next attempt from the bunker splashed into the water short and left of the green, instead of a safer play to the right. After the pinfall, Piercy hit raw. Then his next attempt stopped 3 inches short of the cup.
Grillo, the Argentine who tied for second at the John Deere Classic three weeks ago, also had a triple bogey that loomed large at the end, a 7 on No. 7.