‘My boys were counting on me’: Tony Finau on playing par-3 course just hours after Mexico win

Just hours after Tony Finau captured the Mexico Open title on Sunday, the PGA Tour posted a video of Finau carrying two golf bags while out on Vidanta’s lighted par-3 course with sons Jraice and Sage.

The footage, of course, went viral as Finau had just finished 72 holes over four days and was set to play again at this week’s $20 million Wells Fargo Championship. But as Finau has expressed countless times in the past, he’s a “part-time golfer, full-time father.”

So, instead of getting some rest, he made time for his boys.

“It was just cool to cap off an amazing week with my boys and be on the golf course,” Finau said Tuesday. “I fell in love with the game of golf playing evening golf with my dad and my brother and it brings back memories that are just unforgettable. Hopefully, my boys are enjoying it like I was when I was a kid, just being with my dad and my brother. It’s just special to be with them no matter what. If I would have finished second, I would have been with them still.

“My boys were counting on me and that’s something that I take pride in just as a father.”

Finau added Tuesday that he wasn’t just caddying for his sons; he also played the par-3 course. And it wasn’t just Sunday night; he did the same every night that week with Jraice.

Sage, Finau said, has been warming up to the sport ever since holing a 12-foot putt during this year’s Masters Par 3 Contest.

“Everybody went crazy, and it kind of changed his whole persona about golf,” Finau said. “He wanted to hit the next putt and the next putt. Ever since then he’s been asking me to play golf, so I took him out a couple times last week.”

Just don’t think Finau the competitor let his boys win.

“Man, I cleaned house last week,” he added. “I beat up on my boy fortunately all week on the par-3 [course], and then was able to take the trophy at the Mexico Open. It was a good all-around week in golf for me.”