PGA Tour superstar Tony Finau, a highly popular golfer on the tour, gained even more fame after his appearance on the Netflix show Full Swing. The show shed light on his background, revealing how he emerged from a disadvantaged neighborhood in Salt Lake City to achieve his current success.
According to a recent report from Desert News, former business partners who claim to have provided loans and services to the Finau family are now engaged in two separate lawsuits. These lawsuits aim to recover millions of dollars that Tony Finau has earned throughout his career on the PGA Tour.
During the 2022-23 season, Finau, a six-time PGA Tour winner, secured two victories at the Mexico Open at Vidanta and the Cadence Bank Houston Open. His career earnings on the PGA Tour, as listed by Spotrac, amount to $50,315,922. This includes his highest-earning seasons in 2022 and 2023, with $13,881,886 and $7,602,652 respectively.
The Desert News report states that one of the lawsuits, filed in 2020, is now heading to trial. Additionally, an appellate court has partially reinstated a separate lawsuit that was previously dismissed in 2021. The nature of the lawsuits is described as follows:
Two different investors have filed separate lawsuits against the Finau brothers, Tony and Kelepi “Gary” Finau, their father. Molonai Hola, a former business associate and family friend, filed his lawsuit in September 2020, while Utah County businessman David Hunter filed his complaint in May 2021.
Both Hola and Hunter, who are not collaborating, claim repayment for loans and services provided to the Finau family between 2006 and 2009, totaling approximately $1.1 million. They also seek, individually, up to 20% of Tony Finau’s career earnings, which could amount to tens of millions. In April, Finau won $1.3 million with a first-place finish at the Mexico Open.
Tony Finau has chosen not to publicly address the lawsuits. His manager wisely pointed out that there is no benefit to Tony commenting on ongoing legal matters. Chris Armstrong, his manager, expressed confidence in the legal process and expects it to unfold in due course.
In essence, former business partners who supported Tony Finau and his brother’s golf careers from an early stage are now pursuing a share of the tens of millions Tony has earned on the PGA Tour. From Tony’s perspective, however, these business partnerships were dissolved many years ago.
According to the report, one of the lawsuits is seeking over $16 million from Tony, while the other claims they are owed more than $5 million.
Both lawsuits revolve around the dissolution of The Finau Corp. in 2009. It appears that both cases are now heading towards trial.
It is worth noting that Tony Finau is highly regarded in Utah and enjoys significant popularity. With both trials taking place in Utah, it will be interesting to observe the public perception in the coming months.
According to the Source brobible.com