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SALT LAKE CITY — Tony Finau knew the precise moment that cost him contending for a repeating title at the Texas Children's Houston Open shortly after he came into the clubhouse on Easter Sunday.
Putting himself in position to contend was just enough.
Finau carded six birdies with two bogeys in Sunday's final round, vaulting him within one shot before the defending champion fell just short of his seventh PGA Tour victory at Memorial Park.
The Rose Park native carded back-to-back birdies to end both the front and back nine on his round. But a slip on the par-5 16th hole is what Finau was thinking about following his round.
"It was nice to finish the way I did," he said. "Missed a short one on 16 that hopefully's not going to cost me the tournament. Still a little bit shaken by that, but overall it was a really nice week as I look forward to playing Augusta National."
Stephan Jaeger held on for a four-day total of 12-under-par 268, shooting 3-under 67 in the final round to clinch the 34-year-old German-born golfer's first tour win in 135 starts Sunday.
"The last couple of days was such a blast," Jaeger told NBC after his round. "I just tried to stay within myself, tried to make some putts, try to make some birdies. Birdies kind of eluded me on the back nine there ... but I'm super happy, obviously, with today."
A chip-in birdie for @TonyFinauGolf 💥
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 31, 2024
Finau moves to -8 and two shots back @TCHouOpen. pic.twitter.com/RUlfA9WdGz
Jaeger's win was good for $1.64 million in the winner's purse. Each second-place finisher, including Finau, took home $553,735 and 167 FedEx Cup points, per the PGA Tour's payout distribution.
Finau finished in a five-way tie for second with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Argentina's Alejandro Tosti, Belgium's Thomas Detry and American Taylor Moore.
Finau tied a course record after shooting 8-under 62 Friday to take the lead into the weekend. But the father of five who owns a home in Lehi shot 72 to fall back of a pack that included Sheffler, Jaeger, Detry, Tosti and David Skinns in a five-way tie for first following an eventful moving day.
Finau, who opened the weekend with a two-shot lead, didn't make a birdie until the 13th hole of a blustery day Saturday. But he was still just two shots back before Sunday's finale.
Instead, Sunday marked the 32nd top-five finish of Finau's PGA Tour career and the 11th time he's been runner-up as he looks toward The Masters, beginning April 11 in Augusta, Georgia.
That's the most important date on Finau's calendar as he looks for a first major title.
"I drove it really nicely this week, that's huge at Augusta National. If I'm driving it long and straight around that place, it becomes very scorable," Finau said. "That's going to be a huge weapon for me if I want to win the Masters. I was very happy with that. But all parts of the game, it's nice to have a good finish. That's what I was looking for this week. I didn't have some of my best results, I felt like I was putting some good work in over the past month and not getting good results out of it, so it's nice to get a nice result after a solid week."
Two wins 16 months apart in Houston would've been nice for Finau. But simply getting back into contention will boost his confidence, he admitted.
"A win would have been nice this week, but just to put yourself in contention, feel the nerves, I think that's important leading up to a big tournament," Finau said.
