Finau ends drought in wet New Jersey

NEW YORK • Tony Finau snapped a lengthy title drought on Monday, outlasting Cameron Smith in a play-off at the Northern Trust, which finished a day late and needed an extra hole to determine the winner.

It was just the second win of the American's career, coming 1,975 days and 143 starts since his first PGA Tour win at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open.

"It feels amazing. I knew I had to get to 20 under. That was my goal starting the day. I was able to do it," he said of the biggest win of his pro career, which began in 2007.

Finau cruised to victory by making par on the extra hole in the first event of the FedEx Cup play-offs at the Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Organisers had to move the final round to Monday after Tropical Storm Henri hit the United States, with 23cm of rain falling on the course over the weekend.

That made for difficult conditions as shots plugged in the ground and sometimes landed in puddles that dotted the course. The final round was also delayed an hour because of the bad weather.

Finau closed with a six-under 65 in regulation for a 20-under 264 total, then carried his strong play over into the play-off.

The same could not be said for his Australian opponent, who shot 67 for the round but virtually handed over the win on the par-four 18th by smoking his tee shot out of bounds on the extra hole.

After consecutive birdies at the 16th and 17th holes to put himself into contention, Smith admitted he erred at the worst possible time.

"Just a terrible swing, mate. Just a mishit and in these conditions, you can't mishit the ball," the world No. 23 said. "My driver has cost me a few tournaments this year."

He had to hit a second tee shot but there was no turning back with the way Finau was playing.

The world No. 9 had gone birdie-eagle-birdie-par-birdie during a five-hole stretch on the back nine, beginning with the par-four 12th hole.

He also had to leapfrog over Jon Rahm by shooting a 30 on the back nine. The world No. 1 had looked to be on his way to victory but made two bogeys in his final four holes for a 69 and third place at 18 under, two strokes back of the leaders.

"It took everything I had," Finau said. "I was chasing down the best player in the world. Jon is a good friend, but I know what type of game he has. He's not going to let up on a lead.

"So I knew I was going to have to catch him and eventually pass him, and Cam was playing well. I gave it everything I had."

The Northern Trust featured the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 70 from this event will move on to the BMW Championship, which tees off in Maryland tomorrow.

Patrick Reed, who won the 2019 edition, withdrew from the tournament last Thursday due to an injured ankle, but his health took a turn for the worse over the weekend as he ended up in a hospital in Houston with double pneumonia.

"I'm on the road to recovery," he said. "Once I'm cleared from the doctors, I look forward to returning."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE