Twenty-one tournaments, sixteen cuts made and one top-five finish. For Tony Finau, the numbers told a story he’d never experienced in his PGA Tour career. The six-time PGA Tour winner sat in a golf cart beside Jason Day on December 12, 2025, for a YouTube segment with The Lads. Between holes, Finau delivered an assessment no professional golfer wants to make public.

“It was the worst season of my PGA Tour career,” Finau said. “I know I didn’t play my best, but it’s like, okay, what do I got to do to be better to play better, all the things,” Finau continued during the exchange. “When I was playing better, how can I adapt to that, but even be a better version of that?”

His answer entirely rejected the concept of nostalgia as he emphasized on the need to make relevant changes. “I don’t believe in such a thing as like I wish I could hit it like how I used to or I wish I had the speed that I used to,” Finau said. “You’ve got to reinvent yourself as you age. You can’t just keep thinking that it’s like I want to go back to something. It’s like, no, I can be better than that.”

Jason Day understood the emotions that were running through Finau and the conversation deepened. “It’s so hard to have this trajectory,” Day said, gesturing upward. “There has to be a little bit of this, but as long as, like, over time it’ll just slowly go, you know what I mean? It’s hard to be like a Scotty or a Rory. There’s a small percentage, and everyone’s different. We have to learn our own things and learn how to do things separately.” “I know that you said it’s like been your worst year, but like it’s been more of a learning year, and I think you’re getting smarter from it, and it will only help you in the future, which is great,” Day added.

Finau’s 2025 campaign produced an 83rd-place FedExCup finish and a world ranking drop from 26th to 80th. The decline traces back to October 2024 when he underwent a knee surgery to aid a torn meniscus repair and cartilage removal. Finau described the recovery as “a lot tougher process than really anything that I’ve done with my body.”

He acknowledged that ankle issues compounded the knee problems. Yet, his focus stayed on identifying improvement areas beyond physical recovery. The philosophy separated Finau’s approach from the instinct most struggling players follow. Rather than chasing past form, he advocated complete reinvention. The reframe acknowledged pain while emphasizing growth.

Top Stories

LIV Golf to Cut Ties With Veteran Pro After His PGA Tour Return Intentions Became Public

Charley Hull Opens Up on ‘Traumatic’ Divorce from Ex-Husband for the First Time Ever

‘Penalize Him’: PGA Tour Q-School Faces Heat as Slow Play Incident Goes Unaddressed

How Good Is Charlie Woods at Golf? John Daly, Phil Mickelson & More Give Their Verdicts

LIV Golf CEO Goes Into Damage Control Mode After Jon Rahm Declined to Pay DP World Tour Fines

Tony Finau’s reinvention: Necessity, not choice

Physical limitations force aging tour professionals into a crossroads: chase past form or build something new. Finau’s emphasis on reinvention over restoration represents a philosophical shift most veterans face privately but rarely articulate publicly. At 35, navigating knee surgery recovery and persistent ankle problems, he understands that backward-looking goals take into consideration conditions that no longer exist.

Day’s own career trajectory reinforced this reality. The former world No. 1 navigated his own injury battles and performance fluctuations, demonstrating that struggle doesn’t signal a career end when the response centers on evolution. Day has gone through plenty of injuries, including back, hip, wrist, neck and knee and yet, has managed to maintain his standing in the sport.

The conversation represented an evolving player media landscape where authenticity replaces rehearsed press conference responses. Finau’s willingness to call 2025 his worst season publicly, while riding in a golf cart with a peer, created space for honest reflection that traditional formats rarely capture.