Tony Finau Adds Second Driver To His Bag In Bid To Win The Masters
The big-hitting American is set to follow in the footsteps of Phil Mickelson
Tony Finau is reportedly hoping to tame Augusta National and win The Masters this year with two drivers in his bag.
According to PGA Tour Ping rep Kenton Oates in a report in Golfweek, the 34-year-old has opted to ditch his 3-wood for the week after realising it wasn’t going to serve much purpose while playing his practice rounds.
Course conditions for the first men’s Major are firm and fast, although that could be set to change with thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast for Thursday.
Ping have therefore built Finau a second G430 LST driver with different specifications, meaning he will have two different driver options off tees.
His normal gamer has an actual loft of 7.75 degrees, while the new one that is set to feature this week has a standard loft of 10.5 degrees, although that is believed to have been adjusted down to around 9 degrees.
It also has a shorter shaft, meaning it will act as a nice hybrid between driver and 3-wood, not that it will be noticeable to the naked eye.
According to Oates, the Masters-specific model helps Finau draw the ball more easily, a shot shape that is handy to have in your locker for right-handers, specifically on holes like the 2nd, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th, 14th and 17th.
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“It’s probably going to give him a carry distance of about 290 yards and then roll out to about 300,” Oates said.
“It’s still going to go really far. Tony was getting ball speeds with his gamer driver in the high 180s and ball speeds with the little one in the low 180s on the range this week.”
Should it prove successful, it won’t be the first time a player has used two drivers to clinch the Green Jacket.
Phil Mickelson, known for doing things very much his own way during his career, famously captured his second Masters title in 2006 with two drivers in his bag.
A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly.
Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.
As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.
What's in Andy's bag?
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)
Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)
Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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