OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Unbridled euphoria unfolds alongside haunting discontent routinely in the crucible of professional golf, most conspicuously at the end of tournaments. A player wins an event and grins throughout a post-round interview on the final green. Steps away, the golfer who finished second faces probing questions about what went wrong.
The vanquished player, imbued by the sport’s air of civility, typically accepts the setback with tact. It turns out that is harder than it looks.
“A lot harder,” said Tony Finau, who had eight runner-up finishes across five winless years until he won the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust on Monday in Jersey City, N.