Tony Finau

“It was tough, and sometimes you had to find some sponsors for a percentage of your winnings. There are a lot of variables to playing mini-tour golf because of the finances. If you don't play well, you're often losing a lot of your own money.”

“Staying in the moment is not worrying about the outcome but just focusing on the process on the next shot.”

“The things that transpired in my life, they didn't happen in the order that they're supposed to, or are ideal. Everything just kind of fell in my lap at a young age. Things were thrown at me very fast.”

“When your hands are cold, and you're hitting with old, low-quality irons - my first one was a Merlin model with a green shaft - you learn what to do to hit the ball solid.”

“I have a half-court in my house. If you saw my house, you'd think I was an NBA player. I have no golf setup at all inside, just a half-court for me and a volleyball setup for my wife, who plays.”

“I had a chance to win $2 million, a week after high school graduation, and if I turned pro, the sponsor was going to financially support me.”

“The Ping 51-degree makes for a nice transition from the irons. On my 60, it says 8 degrees of bounce, but I grind it to about 5 or 6 degrees. I tried a head with less bounce, but it just didn't look right.”

“The No. 1 institution in the world is family. It's so powerful.”

“At the heart of every slice is an open clubface. And it usually goes with a steep swing that cuts across the ball from out to in.”

“I generally mark my ball with a quarter, but sometimes I'll use a Canadian one-dollar coin. I have a bunch from when I played on the Canadian Tour. I'm not superstitious.”

“It's the Tiger Woods effect. What he was able to accomplish at such a young age - he drew me to the game, and I can only speak for myself, but a lot of the players that are my age saw Tiger in his prime when we were all teenagers. We all wanted to be like him.”

“I'm not an alcohol drinker. Instead of the real beer, I just go with root beer.”

“I know a lot of kids following in my footsteps, not only from my heritage, but there's younger generations trying to follow in my footsteps, so it's really cool just to be the start of something pretty special for our culture.”

“Essentially, my parents directed me in the right path. They were all for me turning professional and starting that journey as a family with my golf career.”

“It's a cool thing to see Polynesians - there's not too many of us, period - but especially doing well in American sports. It's pretty cool.”

“If the rules aren't going to protect the integrity of the game, then they're wrong.”

“We grew up in the Rose Park section of Salt Lake City. It's a good neighborhood but a tough one, on the poor side but proud. Sports are big. You learn to fight.”

“I'm really proud, just seeing a lot of the kids that have been inspired by me. There's a lot of great athletes all over the world, and some of them don't have the access or opportunity to play the game of golf.”

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would have turned pro at 17.”

“I use the low-spinning Pro V1 left dot. I mark it with the logo for the Tony Finau Foundation.”