Tony Finau and Jon Rahm play enough golf together away from the PGA Tour that Finau thinks it has only made him a better player.
He showed that Sunday in the Mexico Open at Rahm’s expense.
Finau was expecting a tough test against Rahm, the Masters champion and No. 1 player in the world. Equipped with a 2-shot lead, Finau played bogey-free for a 5-under 66 and never gave Rahm or anyone else much of a chance.
He wound up winning by 3 shots for his fourth PGA Tour title in the past nine months.
“Any time you can battle with a guy like Jon Rahm who’s in the form that he was and come out on top, it makes me feel good,” Finau said. “Rahm is a good friend of mine, we practice quite a bit together, so having Rahmbo as like a sparring partner for me has only made me better. And I hope he can say the same.”
Finau earned a small measure of redemption at Vallarta Vidanta, where last year he finished runner-up to Rahm by 1 shot.