Brittney Griner starstruck by Tony Finau at the WM Phoenix Open

American basketball star Brittney Griner made her second public appearance after being released from Russian prison. Griner attended the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament's third round on Saturday, February 11, and was present at the iconic hole 16 to cheer for her favorite, Tony Finau.

Griner was part of a 200,000 crowd of fans and walked the final three holes with Finau's group inside the rope. She declared herself to be a fervent supporter of Finau and has been clapping for him throughout the contest. Griner later met him and invited Finau to the Mercury Games.

Brittney Griner was held in a Russian prison for around 10 months before being released in December. She has hardly made any public appearances since then. However, on Saturday, the basketball star attended the WM Phoenix Open and then the NFL Super Bowl.

Tony Finau finished in T14 at the WM Phoenix Open in a six-way tie alongside Hoffman, Patrick Rodgers, Taylor Moore, Beau Hossler, and Dylan Frittelli.

Scottie Scheffler registered a two-shot victory over Nick Taylor. Jon Rahm finished third while Justin Thomas finished fourth. Jason Day secured the fifth position and Jordan Spieth settled in the sixth position alongside Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Sungjae Im, and Tyrell Hatton.

When will Brittney Griner play again?

Brittney Griner is skipping her basketball training and is focused on her recovery after being released from prison. She is enjoying her time with her wife and attending the Super Bowl with her. She last appeared at the Martin Luther King Jr. march.

Griner is scheduled to take part and play for the Phoenix Mercury next. In her interview at the Phoenix Open, she also talked about her plans and also potentially playing in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Tony Finau at the 2023 WM Phoenix Open

Tony Finau started the opening round at the Phoenix Open with a birdie on the fifth hole. He then sunk another birdie on the seventh hole, a double bogey, and two more birdies and a bogey in the first round.

Finau shot 68 on the second day, with four birdies and one bogey. However, he only made two birdies and two bogeys in the fourth round, finishing T-14.

The WM Phoenix Open concluded on Friday, December 12. The tournament featured some of the biggest names, including Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler won the tournament and took home $3.6 million. Nick Taylor finished second and earned $2.1 million in prize money. The tournament had a purse of $20 million, featuring 132 players. Shockingly, Collin Morikawa missed the cut after the second round of the tournament.

2023 WM Phoenix Open leaderboard

About the author

Ankita Yadav is an NFL and Golf writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of experience in journalism (and counting). She’s previously covered the world of entertainment with OtakuKart and TV Season & Spoilers and worked as an editor at ComingSoon. Her stories have racked up nearly nine million reads, and she’s had the chance to interview top athletes like professional golfer Yuvraj Singh Sandhu.

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