Back in 2019, Tony Finau stood at the edge of golf’s elite. The American star was even viewed as a future Major champion. However, the narrative has now changed as golf has a way of humbling even the brightest prospects. The 2025 season turned out to be especially difficult for the star. And now, for the first time since 2018, Finau finds himself unqualified for the Masters.

On January 4, 2026, golf analyst Byron Lindeque took to his X handle and reflected on the matter. The golf writer stated, “Debut Masters T10 after rattling off 6 birdies in a row on a Sunday back 9. Not currently qualified for the Masters for the first time since 2018. Big Tone needs to get back to playing some good golf again.”

When Finau played the Masters for the first time, he finished tied for 10th. Additionally, during the final round, he caught everyone’s attention by making six birdies in a row on the back nine. But as seasons passed, Finau struggled to match the lofty expectations placed on him. 

Last year, Finau went winless across 20 PGA Tour events, managing just one top-10 finish. Moreover, the 36-year-old star missed five cuts along the way. His slide down the Official World Golf Ranking from 26th to 89th has been shocking to say the least.

For Finau to qualify for the 2026 Masters, he must meet one of the set criteria. The list includes grounds like securing victories in past Masters or securing a Major in the last five years, or the Players Championship from the last three years.

Finau’s best major finish has been a T3 at the 2024 U.S. Open. That’s also the first and only time he broke inside the top-ten of any majors since the 2021 PGA Championship (T8).

As far as the Players Championship goes, Finau has never really performed well at TPC Sawgrass. He missed the cut last year, and his best performance has been a T19 in 2023. Expecting him to secure a Masters spot by winning the Players is a lofty dream. 

On the other hand, golfers who have appeared in the top-12 and ties in last year’s Masters, too, would get the ticket to the 2026 edition. Finau missed the cut at Augusta last year.

Golfers who finish inside the top 50 under OWGR the week before the 2026 Masters, too, would grab an entry. For that, Finau needs to turn the tide in his favor. He will need multiple top-tens to get inside the top-50. To put that into context his last top-ten came at the 2025 Genesis Invitational (T5).

Augusta National added exemptions for winners of several national opens, including the Scottish, Spanish, Japan, Hong Kong, Australian, and South African Opens, aligning qualification with The Open. But, unfortunately, Big Tone does not meet any of these criteria, which makes the situation even tougher.

The consistency that once defined his game has, unfortunately, slowly faded from view. For a six-time PGA Tour champion, the path to recovery is obvious but far from easy. How Finau responds to this setback might as well shape his career.

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Tony Finau calls 2025 his worst season as comeback hopes linger

Recently, while reflecting on his past performances in 2025, the golfer himself admitted how the season turned out to be particularly disappointing for him. In December of 2025, Tony Finau sat for an interview with the YouTube channel “The Lads”. Finau reflected on his 2025 run and mentioned how it was his “worst season.”

In the same interview, Finau also stated a reason behind his declining form. He mentioned that injuries have been a strong reason behind his setback. Amid this, Jason Day, the host, tried to help Finau with some advice that might help him overcome the phase he has been struggling with.

“It’s so hard to have [a straight] trajectory, you know what I mean? There has to be a little bit of [ups and downs], but as long as, over time, it’ll just slowly go [up], you know what I mean? It’s hard to be like a Scottie or a Rory, where you just rocket”, Day told Finau.

Now, as the PGA Tour star continues to turn things around, only time will tell whether he can manage to grab a ticket to the 2026 Masters.