If Tony Finau is writing thank-you cards after Sunday's wild win at the 3M Open, at the top of his mailing list should be Scott Piercy and the 17th-hole grandstand.
Finau went from five shots down to Piercy, the 54-hole leader, to leading by two after Piercy's triple bogey at the par-4 14th hole. Finau, playing in the group ahead of Piercy, later led by four shots after birdies at Nos. 14-16 when he stepped on the tee at TPC Twin Cities' par-3 17th hole.
That's where the second thank you is needed.
From 197 yards out. Finau sailed the green, sending his ball into the grandstand behind the hole. The ball took a hard ricochet, but with water lurking to the left of the green, Finau caught a huge break: his ball ended up on the putting surface and inside 24 feet.
"I called bank in the air, so I think that cancels everything out," Finau quipped, "but I did get a great bounce there and I took advantage of that."
He was able to save par and keep his four-shot edge, which came in handy as Finau found the drink with his tee ball at the par-5 finishing hole. Even with a closing bogey, Finau won by three shots.
"I think I'm still trying to catch up, still trying to figure out," Finau said. "I think the win is finally settling in. I was just chasing all day, that's all I remember. ... Seemed like Scott wasn't letting up all tournament, so to all of a sudden have the lead, I will say I got quite nervous on 17 just because it was a whole different feel on how the week was going. I never was near the lead. I was near the top of the leaderboard, but I was never within four or five shots. All of a sudden I was the one leading the golf tournament. Sometimes you've got to learn how to play with a lead, so it was a tournament that I just – I didn't know I was going to be in that situation.
"A couple squirrelly shots on 17 and 18, but I willed my way in and really happy to get that 'W.'"