Tony Finau fighting two lawsuits from ex-associates seeking millions

May 2024 · 3 minute read

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Two men from Tony Finau’s past think they deserve nearly half of his PGA Tour winnings.

The PGA Tour star has been named in two lawsuits, with the former associates — who are not working together — seeking “repayment for loans and other work and services they say they provided to the family” from 2006-09 that’s worth around $1.1 million, according to Desert News.

Molonai Hola, an ex-business associate who sued in 2020, and businessman David Hunter, who filed a lawsuit the following year, are each seeking up to 20 percent of Finau’s career earnings.

The 33-year-old Finau — a revered figure in his home state of Utah, where he grew up in humble beginnings — has earned an estimated $50.3 million in his career, according to Spotrac.

His brother Gipper, who never reached the PGA Tour, was named in Hola’s lawsuit, along with his father, Gary.

Tony Finau of the United States. Getty Images

“We never comment on matters of a legal nature … and are confident that the legal process will carry out in due course,” Finau’s manager, Chris Armstrong, told the Utah-based paper.

He also added that there is “no upside” to Finau commenting on the lawsuits.

Finau’s former agent, Dieter Esch, supported “Hola’s account of the loans and other financial support” in an ESPN 700 radio appearance this month, the Desert News reported.

Golf instructor David Leadbetter served as a coach for the Finau brothers and when he “and others complained to Hola” that Gary was interfering, the patriarch was let go.

Molonai Hola [right] attends Sundance Business Connection in 2011. Getty Images

Hola — in an interview this month with the Desert News that included his attorneys — claimed he separated Finau’s father from ICON Sports Consultants, who, in turn, decided to dissolve The Finau Corp in 2009, of which Hola and his associate Steve Gasser owned 20 percent.

The dissolving of the company is at the heart of both lawsuits.

Hunter purchased Gasser’s part of the contract in 2016 from his estate — six years after Gasser died of sudden cardiac arrest during a 100-mile bike race.

In the initial complaint, Gary is said to have been on the payroll of ICON Sports Consultants for three years, thanks to Hola.

Tony Finau of the United States Team celebrates with his father Kelepi Finau at the 2022 Presidents Cup. Getty Images

Hunter’s lawsuit was dismissed in November 2021 but was reinstated by the Utah Court of Appeals and oral arguments were heard on the case this week.

“This thing is far from over,” Hunter said last week. “It is a wild and crazy story, but it deserves to be told.”

Meanwhile, two of Hola’s claims — breach of contract and tortious interference against Armstrong and Wasserman Media — were dismissed, but the unjust enrichment claim remains.

Hola’s lawsuit is expected to reach trial in three to six months.

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