Alayna Finau has confessed that the last thing she needs at present is “more drama” as her husband of 12 years pulled out of the Hero World Challenge at Albany.
Tony and Alayna Finau (Image: Getty)
Alayna Finau has had her say on LIV Golf rumours about her husband, Tony Finau, after he pulled out of Tiger Woods’ upcoming Hero World Challenge event. Tony, 35, has been linked with a move to the controversial newer league for some time now, especially given that one of his close friends, Jon Rahm, heads the banner’s Legion XIII team.
Rumours intensified on Monday when it was announced that Finau had dropped out of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and had been replaced by Sepp Straka. Hosted by golf legend Woods, the end-of-season event runs from December 5 to December 8 at Albany, and several top names on the PGA Tour are set to take part, including Scottie Scheffler, Keegan Bradley, and Jason Day.
Following Finau’s withdrawal from the tournament, his wife, Alayna, took to TikTok to release a short video in which she explained that she didn’t need “more drama” at present. In the clip, Alayna faced the camera, mouthing a voiceover: “My life is complicated enough—the last thing I need is more drama.”
The camera then panned to a shirtless Tony by the pool, smiling and giving the hang loose sign with his hand, before the voiceover continued: “Hello drama.” Finau was last seen playing at the Presidents Cup in September, finishing the tournament with a 2-2-0 scoreline as Team USA lifted the trophy in Montreal, Canada.
And it’s not the first time that he has dropped out of an event recently, either. He pulled from the Black Desert Championship in October to attend to coaching duties for his son. Should Finau finally decide to make the move from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, a number of teams will undoubtedly be chasing his signature—none more so than Rahm’s Legion XIII, which has a free spot after Kieran Vincent lost his card.
Unlike other PGA Tour stars who have previously critiqued the Saudi-backed promotion, Finau has stayed incredibly impartial over the years, even showing support to close friend Rahm when he decided to ditch the PGA Tour to link up with LIV. Speaking to Sports Illustrated after Rahm’s deal materialised earlier this year, Finau said: “I’m happy for Jon. He made the best decision he felt was right for his family and himself. I’m happy for him.”
Finau hasn’t played an event since the Presidents Cup (Image: Getty)
Finau has been a staple of the PGA Tour since 2013, winning his maiden title in the Puerto Rico Open in 2016. The pro has won six events in total on the PGA Tour over the years, with his last victory coming in the 2023 Mexico Open.
In terms of majors, Finau has had very little success over the years, with his best finishes coming in the form of a T5 at the 2019 Masters, T4 at the 2024 PGA Championship, T3 at this year’s US Open, and third at the Open Championship of 2019.
It comes after recently being confirmed that LIV Golf is currently fielding calls from players to join the league for the 2025 season. Mirror Sport reports that an unnamed player – who earned a PGA card through the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai Rankings – has approached the promotion to potentially link up for the 2025 season.
