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Ryder Cup: Tony Finau named final wildcard pick for Team USA

By Keith Jackson

Tuesday 11 September 2018 12:11, UK

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Tony Finau was named as Team USA's final wildcard for Le Golf National

Tony Finau has been confirmed as the final captain's pick for Team USA as Jim Furyk finalised his 12-man side for the Ryder Cup.

Furyk added Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau to his eight automatic qualifiers last week, and Finau got the nod over Xander Schauffele as the US captain unveiled his final choice after the BMW Championship concluded on Monday.

during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018 in Southampton, New York.
Image: Tony Finau will make his Ryder Cup debut in Paris

The PGA of America were forced to cancel a scheduled press conference for Monday morning when the penultimate event of the FedExCup Play-Offs spilled over into a fifth day as heavy, persistent rain washed out Sunday's play at Aronimink.

But shortly after Keegan Bradley had defeated new world No 1 Justin Rose in a play-off, Finau was announced as Furyk's 12th player via a post on the Ryder Cup USA Twitter account.

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"He has an unbelievable body of work this year," Furyk said in a statement. "All those top-10 finishes, the play in big championships and the majors, and then his current form, a second, a fourth and an eighth in the Play-Offs. He checked a lot of boxes and made it impossible not to pick him."

Finau was a clear favourite to earn a trip to Le Golf National at the end of the month after a consistent run of results over the summer, including top-10 finishes in three of the four major championships.

during the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 17, 2018 in Southampton, New York.
Image: Finau has posted three straight top-10 finishes in the FedExCup

The powerful 28-year-old has not managed a victory on the PGA Tour since lifting his maiden title in Puerto Rico in 2016, but he has enjoyed two runner-up finishes this year at the Genesis Open and The Northern Trust a fortnight ago.

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His tied for 10th at The Masters in April was a superb effort considering he dislocated his ankle while celebrating a hole-in-one during the pre-tournament Par 3 contest, while he has missed the cut only once in his last 13 starts worldwide.

during the third round of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 16, 2018 in Southampton, New York.
Image: Finau is the third rookie in the US team

Finau has also been in impressive form during the first three FedExCup Play-Offs events, following his second place at The Northern Trust with a tie for fourth at the Dell Technologies Championship before a closing 65 secured another top-10 finish in Philadelphia.

The world No 15, who becomes the third rookie for Team USA along with DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, will arrive at next week's Tour Championship ranked third in the FedExCup standings, and a win in Atlanta could land him a cool $10m bonus depending on how DeChambeau and Rose perform in the season finale.

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