When Dana Finkelstein received the Garden City Charity Classic trophy a fan uttered “that trophy is almost as big as she is”. In an age when professional athletes are these perceived larger-than-life figures like Dustin Johnson, Michelle Wie or Lebron James, Finkelstein has that Mo Martin or Stephen Curry relatable look and persona. She’s just a normal 5 foot 1 inch women, except she is damn good at golf.
So, how in the world does she do it?
Of the 136 professionals ranked in the “average driving distance” category, Finkelstein ranks 126 at 235.170 yards per strike. It’s not distance off the tee.
She absolutely peppers the fairway. She ranks fifth on Tour in driving accuracy, hitting 85.1% of fairways this season (587 of 690). She also hits her targets from the fairways. She ranks seventh on Tour in greens in regulation at 72.8%. She ranks 36th in putting and averaged 29 putts over the four days at Buffalo Dunes.
That’s how.
The neat thing about Dana is that she is unassuming. She doesn’t pump her chest and hardly fist pumps after a birdie. However, she definitely makes her presence felt. When Brittany Benvenuto, who finished 2nd last week, walked out of the scoring tent she turned to me and said “is Dana even playing the same course we are?” She has definitely earned the respect of her fellow Tour professionals.
Dana loves dogs, blue Gatorade, Chick-fil-A, Harry Potter and college football. Her friends even joke that she can’t stay up past 8:30 pm.
Again, she’s just like you and I. Except, she’s damn good at golf.
Back to Mo Martin. The comparisons make sense. Martin is 5’1, she peppers the fairways (leads LPGA at 85.89%) and ranks 12th in greens in regulation (72.91%). Remember, Finkelstein hit 72.8% of greens – wild! Martin ranks 152nd on the LPGA in average driving distance.
Finkelstein has a long way to go to catch Martin – major champion, 8 career top 10’s and $2 million + in earnings – but the comparison seems to make sense.
The final similarity between the two – both continue to prove the doubters and naysayers wrong.
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