Memorial Weekend: Will Finau's "Inspired By Bryson" Approach Work?

Daniel Rapaport at GolfDigest.com explains how Tony Finau and coach Boyd Summerhays decided to borrow from Bryson DeChambeau’s ball speed approach, leading to the 36-hole Memorial lead.

“Kind of in the middle of last week, my coach Boyd Summerhays and I decided to crank some up a little bit after being inspired by Bryson,” he said. “Seeing how straight he was hitting it and how hard, and so I decided to crank it up and work on hitting a really hard fade.

“I’ve let a few go so far this week, and it’s been pretty fun for me to kind of reach back more so than I have in the past.”

The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn also looked at Finau’s decision to unleash more speed and notes this in the numbers (again, through 36 but still):

For the year, Finau ranks 26th on tour in driving distance (305.9) and 40th in strokes gained off the tee (.331). This week, he ranks second in driving distance (321.0) and fifth in strokes gained off the tee (1.360).

“I’ve let a few go so far this week, and it’s been pretty fun for me to kind of reach back more so than I have in the past and kind of open up and hit some,” Finau said.

For Strokes Gained fans, the difference compared to his season rank is already noticeable:

Here’s where this weekend’s clash gets interesting: Muirfield Village is exuding a major championship look. Will the approach hold up on a course with greens browning/yellowing/purpling? (They get ripped up next week so no need to worry about the superintendent.) Throw in running fairways, tough hole locations healthy rough and this is our best chance yet since the restart to see if Bryson Ball will work on an extreme setup designed to reward precision.