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THE 148TH OPEN

July 21, 2019

Tony Finau

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Q. Can you maybe just talk about how good an even-par round is out there.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I thought it was really good. I played nicely. I played solid. I hit it good. I don't know how many birdies I made, maybe three, three birdies, which is pretty good out there I thought today.

But the wind was hard. We got to 11 and it had been blowing quite a bit. We got the worst of it. It started raining and blowing sideways. We had to weather the storm there in the middle of the round.

Really proud of the way I played this week. Close to my best finish in a major on this venue is pretty cool.

Q. Have you played in conditions like this, have you?
TONY FINAU: I would say I probably played tougher conditions but I haven't played better than I did today in those conditions. The rain, that 30 minutes that it rained was extremely difficult. We were on 11, teeing off on 12. Then after the rain stopped the wind picked up. So you were playing all those holes from 13 to 15, you play downwind. You turn and you're 16 to 18 straight into the wind and at 30 miles an hour. It played extremely tough.

I was just happy with the way I hung in there. I knew winning the Championship was out of my grasp but I wanted to post as good of numbers as I could. Then just keep fighting until the end, and I was able to do that.

Q. What did you hit on 16?
TONY FINAU: 4-iron, but that hole kind of exposed me. I had a gap this week, and I go from a 4-iron to pretty much a strong 2-iron. And I did the 2-iron because I wanted to keep the ball low. I hit it on 18 all four days this week, I hit it all over the place, honestly. But that kind of exposed my gap. I had to hit a really good 4-iron to hopefully get it on top of the ridge. I was happy to make 3 there.

Q. Where have you played in worse weather?
TONY FINAU: The final round last year at the Dunhill Links, it was blowing like 40. It didn't rain. Today it only rained for like 30 minutes. But if we're talking about wind and conditions, that was ridiculous. I remember that still very vividly.

And then a couple times at home. This is probably the second- or third-hardest day I've had to face. But I've had some days at home, just being silly, blowing 50 and raining sideways, stuff like that.

Q. What's the secret to playing in weather like that?
TONY FINAU: The secret for me, into the wind, keep the ball low to the ground. And downwind, try and hit it -- try and miss it in the right spots.

I wasn't trying to make birdies, and I think that's the thing when you're playing in wind. Par is a great score when you know you're playing a golf course like this.

I wasn't trying to hit hero shots into the wind, downwind. I was hitting the shots I know I can play. It ended up being a fantastic round. You add that up and I think that's kind of how I played it.

Q. The mental side.
TONY FINAU: Mentally you've got to be tough. You're going to make mistakes no matter what. I made two or three bogeys out there today still. And I don't think anybody is going to avoid bogeys when they're playing this kind of weather.

But mentally you've got to be tough.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I felt good. Physically I felt great, yeah. I've got a little extra meat on me so I felt pretty warm out there.

Q. Talk about your ball-striking.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, I think the ball-striking in wind, today and just in general, when you're playing in wind I think ball-striking is a premium. You have to be hitting it good. The guys that aren't hitting it as good are the guys that aren't. It gets exposed more when you're playing in the wind.

Q. What was the most extreme shot you had to take given the wind?
TONY FINAU: The second shot on 11. I hit a perfect drive when it was raining and blowing sideways. I had 206 front and 228 hole, so I pulled out my 2-iron, raining sideways, blowing 30 off the left and tried to hit a running hook up there. Didn't quite pull it off. That was by far the most challenging shot I had to face all week.

The fescue to the right of the green and the bunker to the left and the fescue to the left. Trying to hook it into the wind. Just keep it down and run it up the slope.

It would have been cool to pull that one off. By far the hardest shot I had to deal with this week.

Q. Must feel good overall?
TONY FINAU: Yeah, it does.

Q. You're playing good in majors.
TONY FINAU: Yeah, it was pretty good. My game travels. I continue to just prove to myself one day I can win one of these, no doubt.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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