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Credits: Alayna Finau, Instagram
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via Imago
Credits: Alayna Finau, Instagram
Everyone’s feeling The Open Championship hype right about now! But Tony Finau’s wife might be feeling a bit differently. The PGA Tour Pro and his wife were spotted traveling to Scotland for the upcoming major championship that is set to take place at Royal Troon. However, a slight mistake from the athlete’s partner seems to have angered many in the golfing world.
The 34-year-old’s wife shared a post on her Instagram handle, finaufresh, giving an account of their journey to the Open. But she started the recording with the statement, “Come with us to Scotland for the British Open,” while using the incorrect term to denote the upcoming major championship.
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Although the video did showcase many instances of Finau and his wife’s journey to Scotland together, some fans couldn’t seem to look past the mistake she made at the start of the video itself. This caused them to respond to the post in the comments, some of which, interestingly, were shared by the 2023 Mexico Open champ’s soulmate on her Instagram story!
Tony Finau’s wife shares her explanation after being dubbed as a ‘clown’
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As per the R&A, which is the governing body overseeing the upcoming event, the tournament at Royal Troon can either be called The Open or The Open Championship. Unfortunately, some stateside golf fans tend to use the moniker ‘The British Open’ which is inaccurate. Malcolm Booth, former Director of sales and marketing at the R&A, even stated, “It’s an education process we’ve embarked on,” while alluding to the same.
A fan and club manufacturer, @alexirkagolf, apparently shared the same sentiments as Booth but was more aggressive in their response as they commented, “It’s THE OPEN! Not The British Open. It’s called THE OPEN because it was the original Open. FML, every year I have to educate all the clowns.” Another follower agreed and responded, “Right….. her husband is a tour player, she should at the least, get that kind of stuff right….” Tony Finau’s wife, meanwhile, did not just stay quiet but replied with a comment under the same, “Okay my bad I didn’t know that! Now I know, thanks!” before sharing it on her story.
But while doing so, the golfer’s partner also managed to showcase her savage side by comically urging the enthusiast with her caption, “My bad!! @alexorkagolf Plz don’t FYL up! & How dare you not educate me! @tonyfinaugolf.” It seems even her husband received a bit from her end.
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The fourth and final major of the season was founded in 1860. Since then the title has always remained the same. Back then there were no other Opens for it to get confused with. But as time progressed, many national Opens came into existence including the iconic U.S. Open followed by the French, Spanish, and Italian, among others. All of these events were defined by nationality as opposed to the major. In response, R&A refused to do the same for The Open and refused to add the term ‘British’ to it. This seems to be a sentiment shared by many fans as they took to comment under Tony Finau’s wife’s Instagram post, “The Open. Not British Open,” and “You mean the open?”
One ardent admirer of the PGA Tour Pro, however, didn’t care for the name. They just expressed their wishes for the golfer by responding, “British Open, the open, don’t matter – Finau taking it back to the States.” It appears the follower wanted the golfer to follow fellow American Brian Harman’s suit and win the major. But will he be able to do it? The community can only wait and watch!
Debate
Did Alayna Finau's gaffe show ignorance, or is the backlash just overblown?