Golf
Why did Tony Finau pull out of the Hero World Challenge? Is he going to LIV Golf?
Social media activity following Finau’s withdrawal from the Tiger Woods-hosted event has fuelled speculation he could leave the PGA Tour.
The regular golf season might be over but that doesn’t mean the tug-of-war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is also taking a break. Tony Finau is the man at the centre of the latest rumours after pulling out of this week’s Hero World Challenge.
Finau was originally part of of the 20-man field at the picturesque Albany course in the Bahamas, with the Tiger Woods-hosted tournament to be played between Thursday, December 5 and Sunday, December 8.
Mystery surrounds Finau withdrawal
Like Woods, though, the 35-year-old will ultimately not be teeing it up. On Monday, Finau announced he was withdrawing from the event, with European Ryder Cup player Sepp Straka announced as his replacement.
The fact the six-time PGA Tour winner initially backed out without any explanation had fuelled rumours that a move to LIV could be on the cards in the offseason.
The Hero World Challenge is sanctioned by the PGA Tour, although it doesn’t formally recognise the winner, and the tournament doesn’t carry FedEx Cup points or official money.
Ripper GC and Alayna Finau’s cryptic social media posts
After the news broke, social media went into overdrive when LIV Golf franchise Ripper GC responded to the following post on X suggesting Finau was about to team up with Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Caleb Surratt.
Hours later, a clip posted to wife Alayna’s TikTok account may or may not have quashed the speculation, depending on how you interpret it.
In the 10-second video, she is seen voicing the phrase “My life is complicated enough—the last thing I need is more drama.” The camera then points to Finau, accompanied by a “Hello drama!” remark.
Was it confirmation there is something brewing or simply making light of the situation?
Finau confirms reason for WD in interview
It appears to have been the latter. In an exclusive interview with Golfweek, Finau has since revealed his decision to withdraw was injury-related after he had surgery to repair a tore meniscus and remove cartilage in his left knee in October.
“From what my doctor told me it was pretty standard clean up. He said it would be helpful and so I did it.
As for the “not credible” rumours started by “random people,” Finau left no room for doubt: “I’m more than happy where I’m at on the PGA Tour and looking forward to 2025. When I tee it up in Maui, it will all go away, so, I don’t worry about it one bit.”
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