For Tony Finau, Going the Distance is a Mindset
- January 15, 2026
If golfer Tony Finau had to name his Flu Game moment, it was during the 2018 Masters. He had just sunk a hole-in-one on the par-3 course at Augusta National. He celebrated by taking off sprinting toward the hole, when improbably, he took an awkward step and dislocated his left ankle (fair warning for anyone who wants to look up the video: it was gnarly). In grimacing pain but undeterred, he popped his ankle back in place himself and resumed play, where he’d complete the week with a top 10 finish. Oh, and two months later, he’d make the final group at the US Open. And he’d qualify for his first Ryder Cup. All in a year when he could put barely any pressure on his left foot.
Digging deep to test his physical limits is a signature quality of Finau, who joins Jordan Brand this month as the newest member of its Golf roster. You wouldn’t know any such challenge existed just by looking at him. The lithe 6’4” athlete has one of the most powerful drives on the pro tour, able to crush the ball at over 200 mph since he was 17 years old. He was recruited for hoops out of high school, and he descends from a proud lineage of skilled Tongan and Samoan athletes, particularly in football. When his personal calling to golf was too great to ignore, he worked as hard as possible to reach the sport’s top level, rolling the dice by auditioning for a reality TV golf show, then undergoing a brutal mini-tour schedule for years that forced him to travel at a ruthless pace across the country. Was it worth it? No question. Below, Finau talks about the twists his career has taken, his moments of greatest perseverance and all things drive.
Certain career moments cause you to flip your definition of what winning means. Take that Masters in 2018. It was an incredible moment, that hole-in-one, followed by the most embarrassing moment of my life on national TV. Fast forward to the end of the tournament. I birdied six out of my last seven holes. I shot 66 that Sunday. Walking off the 72nd hole, I truly felt like I won. I felt like somebody should’ve given me the green jacket. In life, we’re going to fall down a lot more times than we’re going to win. But does that actually mean that we lost? I don’t look at it that way.
"I can't wait to join the Jordan Brand as it expands further into golf," says Finau. "There's so much we can do for the game."
There’ll be windows of your life where you need to gut it out just to see what you’re really made of. I turned pro in 2007, but I didn’t get onto the PGA Tour until 2013, so there was a six-year period where I had to tough it out on the Mini-Tour life and learn how to play the game, travel and take the small wins where I could. On the Mini-Tour, you’re fighting for every dollar, your literal livelihood. There were plenty of nights I slept in my car and I went without eating just so I could scrape by. Those were some of the hardest years of my life, but also some of the greatest, because I learned what I can become with a little bit of sacrifice.
Individual sports demand a certain kind of passion. In a sport like golf, you don’t have any teammates to lean on. It’s just you out there. Some people have a hard time without that team component, but when I started golfing at a young age, I found I really enjoyed the game’s individual aspects. It was on me to figure it out, to piece together the ways I could improve. When I got on the golf course, it was a matter of locking in and learning how to focus.
Composure has nothing to do with your athletic skill but has everything to do with the life of an athlete. My brother and I went on The Big Break, a reality TV competition on the Golf Channel, in 2009. I was 20 years old at the time. We were around the camera 24/7. Everywhere we went, they were recording us. It was crazy, and it took some getting used to, but I remember leaving that experience and telling myself, “You’re going to be a great golfer. This media exposure is how it’s going to be if you turn pro.” Being on the show got me to the point where it didn’t really matter who was watching me. I just needed to stay focused and play my game.
Sport was only part of my family’s background. Being Polynesian, my mom had a luau show as I was growing up, so I learned how to play a lot of different instruments as a performer in her show. One of the first instruments I learned was the to’ere, which is like a Tahitian drum. I also did traditional Polynesian fire dancing as a kid. Music and dancing were as core to my identity as sport was.
It’s easy to be an on- and off-switch person. But greatness means being your best at all times of the day, not just when it’s convenient. My mom used to tell me, “The way you do one thing is the way you do all things.” Golf is just one example. Trying to be great at a game that’s impossibly hard, a game you can’t perfect, doesn’t mean that you stop trying. You keep trying to reach for more out of yourself. I’m trying to be great in all aspects of my life, whether that’s on the course, in the gym, being a husband, being a father. I’m trying to push past my own limits in all aspects of my life.
"It’s easy to be an on- and off-switch person. But greatness means being your best at all times of the day, not just when it’s convenient."
Tony Finau
Golfers tend to be pretty superstitious people. One of my rituals is that I wear green every Sunday. My mom, she passed away in 2011 — her favorite color was green. Wearing green is a way I like to honor her, a way to remember she’s with me all the time on the course.
Joining the Jordan Brand marks a new chapter in my career. Obviously Michael represents excellence at the highest level. Jordan Brand is incredible to be a part of and Michael is an incredible individual to represent. I met him for the first time when I was 17, and during the times I’ve played at his private course in Florida, The Grove, he’s always told me, “Anytime you’re in this area, you’re welcome here.” So in 2024, I’m playing a playoff event. I know I’m going to be in West Palm after the playoffs, for a shoot I was doing with one of my sponsors. My son was with me on the trip, and the thought crossed my mind, “It would be the coolest thing on Earth if I could bring my son to play The Grove.” I texted Michael on a whim and asked him. He got back to me 30 seconds later: “We’re actually closed for the weekend, but I’ll open the course just for you and your son. Please bring him and we’ll make it happen.” We played 18 holes that day and had the entire course to ourselves, just me and my son. That single experience is something I’ll never forget. That’s the effect Michael has on people.
You can download more images as well as an accompanying film welcoming Finau to the Jordan Brand family by clicking here.