Is Tony Finau skipping the inaugural Black Desert Championship for coaching duties?

Tony Finau is skipping the inaugural edition of the Black Desert Championship this week for his coaching duties. The American will not tee off this week for the PGA Tour event, as he will be occupied with his responsibilities as a coach of junior golfers.

Tony Finau is the assistant coach for the Thanksgiving Point All-Stars team, who are slated to compete at the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship. The competition is scheduled to take place this week from October 10 to 13 at Fields Ranch West in Frisco, Texas.

Meanwhile, the Black Desert Championship will also start with its first round on Thursday, October 10, and conclude with the finale on Sunday, October 13, in Utah.

Finau will be at the junior event, helping young golfers. The 35-year-old opened up about his dilemma of participating in either event at the 2024 Presidents Cup, saying:

“It was a tough decision but it really wasn’t a decision at all. I’m committed to being a coach and I’ve got to help coach the team.”

Meanwhile, the Black Desert Championship features a stellar field, including Keith Mitchell, Seamus Power, and Kurt Kitayama. It’s a regular PGA Tour event, featuring a full-size field.

Here are some of the top-ranked players competing at the 2024 Black Desert Championship, along with their odds to win the event (via CBS Sports):

Keith Mitchell +1600
Kurt Kitayama +2500
Beau Hossler +2800
Seamus Power +3000
Chris Kirk +3000
Patrick Rodgers +3300
J.J. Spaun +3500
Patrick Fishburn +3500
Chan Kim +3500
Ben Griffin +3500
Michael Thorbjornsen +3500
Stephan Jaeger +3500
Harry Hall +3500
Erik van Rooyen +3500
Ryan Fox +3500
Lucas Glover +4000
Andrew Novak +4000
Emiliano Grillo +4500
Harris English +4500
Adam Svensson +4500
Doug Ghim +5000
Matti Schmid +5000
Matt McCarty +5000
Kevin Yu +5000
Justin Lower +5500
Mac Meissner +5500
Jacob Bridgeman +5500
Rico Hoey +6000
Bud Cauley +6000
Daniel Berger +6000
Patton Kizzire +6000
Alex Smalley +6500
Chandler Phillips +7000
Vince Whaley +7500
Max McGreevy +7500
Nick Taylor +7500
Zac Blair +7500
C.T. Pan +7500
Nick Hardy +8000
Cameron Champ +8000
Justin Suh +8000
Mark Hubbard +8000
Ben Kohles +8000
Michael Kim +8000

A look into Tony Finau’s performance in 2024

Tony Finau has competed in 22 PGA Tour events in 2024 and has made the cut in 20 of them. He has had a decent season this year. Although the Utah-born star did not clinch any victory, he was the runner-up at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Moreover, he also had five top-10 finishes, including T6 at the Farmers Insurance Open, T2 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, T8 at the Memorial Tournament, T3 at the U.S. Open, and T5 at the Travelers Championship.

He finished in 23rd place in the FedEx Cup standings after the Tour Championship and secured his card for the 2025 season on the circuit. Finau earned $5,706,467 from the PGA Tour in 2024.