"I was leaking oil’ – Tony Finau makes honest admission about clutch ace that helped him make Valero Texas Open 2025 cut

By Ankita Yadav

Modified Apr 05, 2025 05:35 GMT

PGA: THE PLAYERS Championship -Second Round - Source: Imagn — Tony Finau (Image Source: Imagn)

Tony Finau's last-moment eagle helped him to jump within the cutline at the 2025 Valero Texas Open and the American has finally secured his spot in the final two rounds of the PGA Tour event. At this week's PGA Tour event, he started the game with a decent round of 69 but had a struggle in the second round. He was on the verge of missing the cut but an eagle on the 16th helped him to make the cut.

In the press conference of the tournament, Tony Finau opened up about his ace on the 16th. He reflected on the struggle he was having and how things changed at the very last moment. He celebrated the eagle by throwing his golf club and his cap on the ground.

In the conference, Finau opened up about his hole-in-one and also celebration, saying (via Tee Scripts):

"It was really timely. That's why I reacted the way I did, I needed something to go my way. I was leaking oil kind of coming in and really shoot myself in the foot on a chance to play the weekend, so it was a huge shot at the right moment."

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Tony Finau started the second round at the Valero Texas Open on Friday on the first hole. He made a bogey on the third and then added two birdies on the fifth and sixth followed by a bogey on the ninth.

He carded a birdie on the 12th but then three back-to-back bogeys on the 13th, 14th, and 15th, but the hole-in-one on the 16th moved him inside the cutline of the PGA Tour event. He settled for an overall score of 3-under. The final will take place on Sunday, April 6.

Tony Finau opens up about his performance at the Valero Texas Open 2025

After making the cut, Tony Finau will now play in the remaining two rounds of the Valero Texas Open, and in the post-round press conference on Friday, April 4, he talked about the game and also reflected on his satisfaction with playing in the weekend rounds. He is looking forward to playing "competitively."

Speaking of his game, Finau said (via Tee Scripts):

"I actually hit it pretty nicely. I made two squirrelly swings at the wrong time on the back and ended leading me down this bogey train, but overall just happy to have two more rounds to play competitively and just to compete."

Meanwhile, Brian Harman took the lead in the game at 12-under after playing the round of 66 in the second round of the Valero Texas Open on Friday. Keith Mitchell settled in second place. But some big names, including Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa, and Akshay Bhatia struggled with their game and unfortunately missed the cut.

About the author

Ankita Yadav is an NFL and Golf writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of experience in journalism (and counting). With a Master’s degree in Chemistry, she somehow swapped test tubes for touchdowns and tee shots—and hasn’t looked back since.

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.

Based in Bhopal, Ankita proudly supports the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, and is a fan of Nelly Korda. When she’s not writing, she’s probably at a live music show, watching a movie, out on a long drive, or in the kitchen cooking up something that tastes better than it looks.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua