Posted April 10, 2019, 10:48 pm
BY

GateHouse Media

Finau doesn't back down from Par-3 Contest

Article Photos

Photos description

Tony Finau put on a special Nike high-top shoe at No. 7 during the Par-3 contest, a joking reference to the ankle injury he suffered at the hole last year. [NIGEL COOK/FOR THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

There was absolutely no trepidation from Tony Finau about playing in Wednesday's Par-3 Contest.

"It's just a cool day to be out here with my kids and family," he said. "I wasn't going to rob them of that."

One certainly could understand if Finau had taken a pass.

At last year's Par-3 Contest, after recording a hole-in-one on No. 7, Finau's celebration down the fairway ended in a severely rolled left ankle, dislocating it before popping it back into place.

The injury threatened to knock him out of his first Masters appearance. Instead, he rode an adrenaline rush and tied for 10th, closing with a final-round 66.

The performance still boggles his mind a little bit.

"Especially after walking the golf course again the last couple days on a healthy body," Finau said. "It's tough and tiring after walking that course for 18 holes. It's pretty cool to look back at what I accomplished."

Finau said he's seen the video of last year's near-catastrophe roughly three times, twice coming during live interviews.

This year, however, he wasn't taking any chances. Before teeing off on No. 7, Finau took off his normal golf shoe and put on a specially-designed Nike green and black high top he dubbed the "Finau One."

"It was a fun thing and Nike really had some great ideas and I was all for it,"said Finau, who also sported a shirt bearing the shoe as a logo. "Obviously a lot of the fame that I got last year came from that hole, so we had to do something."

Finau doesn't back down from Par-3 Contest

From AugustaChronicle.com »

Photos

2021 Invitees