“I wouldn't say they necessarily took me under the wing” – Tony Finau says Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker are two ‘great guys to learn from’

Tony Finau has recently shared that he has learned several approaches to the game from veterans Vijay Singh and Steve Stricker. Finau is currently competing in the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

The first round of the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge concluded on Thursday, May 23, 2024. At the end of the first day, Tony Finau was tied at T2 with Davis Riley, S.H. Kim, Martin Laird, and Brian Harman. Charley Hoffman is on the top of the leaderboard with a score of 5-under 65.

Tony Finau secured five birdies and one bogey in the round to finish 4-under 66. In the post-round press conference, Tony Finau was asked if he got advice at the beginning of his career. Finau said (via Ten Golf):

"I did my best to be around play practice rounds with Vijay Singh, Steve Stricker those guys. I wouldn't say they necessarily took me under the wing. But I kind of forced the issue and trying to get some practice rounds with them and just learn from them." (1:09-1:24)

Throughout his career, Vijay Singh won 66 golf tournaments including 34 PGA Tour events. He also won three Majors including two PGA Championships. Steve Stricker has had 40 wins in his career with 12 of them on the PGA Tour. He further said (via Ten Golf):

"So I think those are two great guys to learn from. And I definitely was able to just soak in my time with them. And learn a little bit from them. As now I reached my 10th year and I really can't believe it's been that long since I've been on tour. But those are those are a couple guys I'd say that I learned from." (1:24-1:45)

Tony Finau will tee off at 1:45 pm ET with Max Homa and Adam Scott on Friday in the second round.

---

A look at Tony Finau's performance in 2024

Tony Finau has had a mixed 2024 season. Of the 13 starts this season, he has had six top-20 finishes. He started with a T38 finish at the Sentry and a T25 finish at the American Express. He improved his performance at the Farmers Insurance Open and finished at T6.

His best performance of the year came at Texas Children's Houston Open where he finished tied at the second position with the likes of Scottie Scheffler. Stephan Jaeger won the tournament. He comes at the Charles Schwab Challenge after a T18 finish at the Valhalla Golf Club in the PGA Championship.

Let's take a look at Tony Finau's performance in the 2024 season:

• The Sentry: T38 (69-66-71-69, 275, -17)
• The American Express: T25 (68-67-67-67, 269, -19)
• Farmers Insurance Open: T6 (69-66-74-69, 278, -10)
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T47 (72-72-67, 211, -5)
• The Genesis Invitational: T19 (70-67-70-71, 278, -6)
• Mexico Open at Vidanta: T13 (69-67-69-68, 273, -11)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: T45 (69-72-69-74, 284, -4)
• Valspar Championship: Missed Cut (72-75, 147, +5)
• Texas Children's Houston Open: T2 (69-62-72-66, 269, -11)
• Masters Tournament: T55 (71-78-72-80, 301, +13) (Majors)
• RBC Heritage: T12 (70-69-69-65, 273, -11)
• Wells Fargo Championship: T52 (72-73-73-74, 292, +8)
• PGA Championship: T18 (65-69-69-70, 273, -11) (Majors)
• Charles Schwab Challenge: T2 (66, 66, -4)