“We have a great stock of American players” – Tony Finau shares ‘big goal’ of playing in the Olympics, says competition is high
Tony Finau is not limiting himself to the PGA Tour. The American golfer has now come out to reveal his “big goal” of playing in the Olympics. The 34-year-old stated that he’d “love to represent the US” this year but admitted that the competition was high for the spot.
Finau was speaking in a pre-event press conference ahead of the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta when he shared his Olympics dream. The PGA Tour stated that that there’s a “great stock of American players” whom he’d have to beat to make it to the Olympics. Stating that all players on the tour respected each other, Finau shed light on the fact that each player was out on the field to win.
Sharing his goals for the Olympics on Tuesday, Tony Finau said at the Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course in Vallarta, Mexico: (9:18)
"It's been a big goal of mine to play in the Olympics, there's no question. I'd love to represent the US and play in the Olympics this year. I know it's coming to LA in a few years, so that'd be great to be able to represent the United States and play in the Olympics."
"We have a great stock of American players. A lot of great American players right now in the game. And we're all very competitive. I think we all get along and respect each other. But at the end of the day, the PGA tour is a competition and we all want to win golf tournaments. So, we definitely respect each other. But every time we tee it up everybody's wanting to win," he added.
Tony Finau top 2024 Mexico Open’s power rankings
Defending champion Tony Finau is the outright favorite at the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta. The 34-year-old leads the Tour experts’ odds list for the Mexican outing. The 6x PGA Tour winner is set to tee off on Thursday, February 22, at the Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course.
Finau won the tournament last year by beating the reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm. With this ongoing form, the golfer will be eyeing replicating the last edition’s result on Sunday. For the unversed, he has played five PGA Tour events in 2024 so far. Notably, he is yet to miss the Friday cut.
Finau, who started the new season with a T38 finish at The Sentry in January, finished a respectable T25 at The American Express. He bettered it with a T19 finish at last week's Genesis Invitational. However, his best result of the year came at the Farmers Insurance Open, when he finished T6. Moreover, Finau has an impressive scoring average of 64.83 in his last six rounds at Vidanta.
Despite the form, a win won’t come easy for Tony Finau. According to the PGA Tour’s power rankings, the defending champion will have to beat the likes of Nicolai Hojgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Emiliano Grillo, and Stephen Jaeger, among others, to lift the Mexico Open trophy.