Captain ‘liked what he saw’

Philadelphia – Tony Finau, a long-driving American golfer of Tongan and Samoan heritage, was named to the final vacant spot on the US Ryder Cup team on Monday by US captain Jim Furyk.

The 28-year-old from Utah completes the 12-man American line-up that will defend the trophy against Europe in the biennial team golf showdown on September 28-30 at Le Golf National in France.

Finau (above), who won his only US PGA title at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, had three top-10 Major finishes this season – sharing 10th at the Masters, taking fifth at the US Open and sharing ninth at the British Open.

“We were looking for guys who had a great body of work all year. He had 11 top-10s. Played good in big moments. He had three top10s in Majors,” Furyk said.

Finau boosted his chances by joining a group that played at Le Golf National earlier this year.

“I liked what I saw,” Furyk said of Finau’s play on the French layout. “He had a lot of support from our vice-captains, so I thought he was our best pick.” –