PGA Championship Tuesday, May 18, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Tony Finau Press Conference Harding Park and you played well there last year. You were right in the thick of it until the end. Does that THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the 2021 PGA encourage you if you feel the golf courses are similar that Championship here at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, you could do some damage here this weekend? South Carolina. We're pleased to be joined by Mr. Tony Finau. Tony is currently ranked No. 14 in the official world TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. I look forward to major golf rankings. He is playing in his seventh career PGA championships. I have a good record. But the energy that Championship. comes from playing these types of tournaments, I love PGA Championships, have had some success in some Tony, do you see the Ocean Course as a typical PGA events as far as PGA Championships go, so I look forward Championship golf course or one that deviates, and if your to the week. answer is deviates, how does it deviate? After seeing the golf course, it's in amazing shape. I don't TONY FINAU: Yeah, I played it for the first time yesterday. know if we putted on greens as good as they are this week I played 18. I wanted to touch them all early in the week. at the Ocean Course here at Kiawah Island. I look forward It seemed more like a U.S. Open golf course to me, I think, to the week, yeah. It's a great golf course. It's going to be if I'm being honest. I tipped it out. I wanted to play it at its a great test. max length. Q. Tony, courses do and don't play to the yardage on But I thought there were some long holes. There was a card. You said it played really long yesterday. Can enough wind yesterday to cause some problems, so I you give us a couple examples for your length where it thought it was quite tough. even played really long?

It actually reminds me a little bit of -- it's a different version TONY FINAU: Yeah, well, just the last five holes were -- but of Harding Park when I first saw it. I didn't play straight into the wind, 14 to 18. 14 is a par-3. I hit a 3-iron Harding Park before the PGA Championship last year, but I from the back tee. It was more like my driving iron, which I also thought that that was -- not as much the PGA flight about 255 yards. So I had to hit that club on 14. Championship's MO as far as toughness of golf course length, stuff like that. 15, I hit 4-iron into, which is a par-4.

You kind of expect that more in a U.S. Open. As the week 16 is a par-5; I hit driver, 3-wood, and it was about 80 went on at Harding Park I think guys were able to learn the yards into the green on a par-5. golf course, a lot of the same wind, so I think guys were still able to score. 17, we played -- that's the only tee we played up. We didn't hit from the very back. We played the back tee but It'll be interesting to see how they mix up the tee boxes this we played up. I hit a 4-iron into that green, which is a week. Again, I played it at max length yesterday, so that par-3, and then driver, 3-iron on 18 from the back tee. was probably a big reason why it was playing really long. Felt like it played really tough, and it was my first I'm not used to hitting a lot of long irons, mostly into par-5s, go-around. As I get more familiar with the course maybe not par-4s, so I think that gave me a little bit of a taste what that'll change a little bit, but I really like the golf course. I it could be like this week. was impressed with it, and it was nice to go around it for the first time yesterday. They did give us a notice in the locker room and an email that they are going to switch up the tee boxes a lot. As I THE MODERATOR: You compared it for a moment to referred to earlier, I'm sure they'll do a great job of kind of

107525-1-1041 2021-05-18 14:22:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 switching it up a little bit and giving us a little bit of leniency when it comes to some of the length on some of those Q. Have you done that before, tried to play the course holes into the wind. as hard as it possibly could play anywhere?

Q. I was going to ask you about the closing 66 last TONY FINAU: Yeah, I mean, I do it most of the time at year. You buried a lot of putts coming in. Was that home. I just like maxing it out and tipping it out to try to kind of a stepping-stone as you look forward to getting challenge myself and have the furthest I can into all the into the mix here more at majors like you've been? greens. I just know for sure yesterday was quite a test. That's why I referred to it as maybe a U.S. Open setup. TONY FINAU: Yeah, it was a big round for me. Just more so I had a chance to win coming down the stretch there. But again, I don't see them setting it up that way and Morikawa made an amazing eagle on 16, which kind of put maxing it out on every single hole, but I wanted to do that the tournament away for a lot of us that were hovering right just to play the golf course at its max length. around 10-under, which I think a lot of us were at. Q. When you show up at a PGA TOUR event and you So he was able to put the golf tournament away with one contend, people might end up being disappointed swing, but barring that, any one of us could have won that when you don't win. Do you almost feel less pressure tournament, and I was included in that. showing up at a major championship, number one, because you have a good record in majors, and I think that was big for me. That was one of a few chances number two, because most of the players in the field I've had to maybe win a major championship, or at least be haven't won a major before? in the thick of it with a few holes to go. I think that was a big stepping-stone for me, and it is always nice to play a TONY FINAU: I don't know if it's less pressure or -- I feel good round of golf on a major Sunday. really comfortable, I think, in major atmospheres, because I've put myself in contention in a lot of them. I've played in Q. Along those same lines as far as moving tees, do the Ryder Cup and I've played in a Presidents Cup, so I the sight lines or where you're trying to play change don't know if it's less pressure than maybe more depending on some of those forward tees they might comfortable than most of the field just playing at a high have you guys play? level in these tournaments.

TONY FINAU: Yeah, no doubt. Right out of the gate No. But I look forward to the major championships. Tiger 15 is a hole that comes to mind. It's a hole that you look referred to them as the four weeks that mattered to him. A like you want to hit it over the left bunker, but from that lot of the top players in the world feel the same. back tee it's pretty much impossible into the wind. As my career has evolved throughout the years I'm starting I tried to do that yesterday, and again ended up hitting a to feel the same. The major championships are the 4-iron out of that bunker and trying to get it on to the threshold of pro golf, and I'm happy that I've showed up for putting surface. If they move that tee box up a little bit I a lot of them. I haven't been able to win one yet, but the think you can cover some of that bunker on the left side more I put myself there, hopefully I knock the door down, there. and hopefully it's this week.

Another hole that comes to mind No. 9. If they move the Q. Brooks has talked about at a major he only feels tee up you can kind of cut the corner off. It's a little dogleg like there's some portion of the field that he has to left. worry about. Do you feel the same way, given how you've performed? So it'll be interesting to see how they mix it up throughout the week, but I think our job as players is to try to be TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think there's definitely a belief in prepared for all of it. That's why yesterday I wanted to play major championships. I think there's only a certain amount it pretty much at its max length to just play it at its toughest of guys that actually believe they can win, like deep down. element and just know from there I can kind of move my I think I'm one of those guys. I believe that I can win a sight lines as the tee moves up. major championship with my track record, with my type of game that holds up well on big golf courses, and under I think that's easier to do that than play where you think high-pressure situations. they're going to play it, and all of a sudden be surprised that they played a lot longer than maybe what you thought. I look forward to the challenge this week. This is the

107525-1-1041 2021-05-18 14:22:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 challenge we have at hand, and I think I'd have to agree and then we'll do some work with it. with Brooks, there's only a certain amount of guys that believe they can get it done, and hopefully I'm that guy this Q. Did you know you guys get to scoop away all the week. two-footers this week? (Laughter.)

Q. Talking about probably having an advantage of TONY FINAU: Three-footers you said? I'm in. your length if you tipped it all the way back, how much is your advantage negated if they start moving tees all Q. When Brooks made his comment about the number over the place on this golf course? of guys that can win, if you have belief that you can win, do you have to have either won one in the first TONY FINAU: Yeah, any time you play the tee boxes up a place or at least contended for that belief to count for little bit more or don't play the full length of the golf course, anything? I think it takes away some of the advantage. But there's always an advantage when you hit it further than most of TONY FINAU: I think that's a big part of it. I think the big the field. part of the confidence comes from being there before. I think a great example is Gary Woodland. Before 2019 he It's not only off the tee. I think most people refer to length hadn't posted a top 10. He posted a top 10 at the PGA being off the tee, but it's hitting into the green with a little Championship and he wins the next major. I think that more lofted club, being able to hold your ball a little faster confidence is huge, just being there before and having than most guys. Whether that's into the wind, downwind, performed under that immense pressure. that's a big advantage. And I think for most cases that's true. Not all. Collin Hitting out of the rough. Yesterday on No. 4 I drew a Morikawa wins last year. Amazing talent, but I don't know terrible lie out of the rough on the left side. It was into the that he had been in that situation before. So it's not in all rough only about a foot and the ball was almost buried. I cases, but I would say in most cases, having that was about 190 yards into the wind but I was able to -- I advantage of just being there before, knowing what it feels probably swung harder on that than any shot I hit like and tastes like, I think is a big part of having the yesterday, and able to get that within 40 yards of the confidence to close one in major championships. green. I think that's a big advantage. Maybe most guys would be able to advance that ball 60 or 70 yards, and I THE MODERATOR: Tony, thank you for spending some was able to advantage it 140 yards. time with us, and best of luck this week.

But I think length is a lot more than just off the tee. I think FastScripts by ASAP Sports (here is the beginning of it's into the greens and hitting it out of the rough. When you're able to advance your golf ball a lot further than most guys, I think that's an advantage, as well.

Q. This week you get to use the yardage devices as well as your book. Which one would you rely on more?

TONY FINAU: Yeah, you mean like during the tournament we're able to use a -- we really are? I didn't know. We can use our range finders during competition?

Q. Certain facets of the range finder operation, yeah. No slope.

TONY FINAU: I didn't know that. I haven't had time to think about it. But I'm sure I'll just refer to what I'm used to, which is just looking at the yardage book, walking it off with my caddie. There's a lot more numbers, I think, than just the flagstick for us.

But that's interesting. I didn't know that. I'll tell my caddie

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