In this episode of Inside Golf Podcast, Andy Lack (@adplacksports) sits down with Dieter Esch, to dive deeper into the Tony Finau saga. Dieter Esch is not only Finau’s former agent, but the former owner of Wilhelmina Models. Dieter represented Finau when he first broke onto the professional golf scene in the early 2010s, and shares some fascinating insights into Finau’s relationship with his father, and those who offered Finau a financial opportunity to play golf professionally. Esch also shares stories from his time representing Matt Kuchar and sheds light on the future of the Finau court case and how it might be currently affecting his play. Thanks for listening and subscribing to Inside Golf Podcast, cheers!
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00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message
01:05 Guest Introduction: Dieter Esch
02:18 Discovering Tony and Gipper Finau
04:03 The Role of Molonai Hola
07:46 Early Challenges and Breakthroughs
14:45 Struggles with Tony’s Father
19:21 Tony’s Ascent and Family Conflicts
33:06 Reconnecting with Matt Kuchar
34:00 The Urgency to Settle Tony’s Case
38:15 Cultural Influences on Tony’s Decisions
41:46 Financial Mismanagement and Legal Troubles
53:57 The Role of Media and Public Pressure
01:01:00 Final Thoughts and Personal Stories
5 Comments
This was awesome
Such an awesome peek behind the curtain! Thank you! 10/10
I don’t know how to make this happen, but this video needs to reach more people! I am from Utah and currently live here in Salt Lake City. I feel like people here (especially LDS people) don’t believe the allegations against the Finaus or they don’t want to believe them.
What an excellent story. Thank you
There's two sides right? Tony Finau's father may be at fault here, but no way this guy has convinced me. Would love to hear the other side. He continually speaks out of both sides of his mouth.
He says he organized the meeting because he has a good relationship with the father but spent the episode insulting him?
He says Tony should pay the "pennies" before going to court but also says Molonai should not settle?
He says Tony still has a great career ahead with plenty of time but doubts he'll ever get back to being a top 10 player?
He doesn't have a dog in the fight but he fronted money for the lawsuit and advocating for an aggressive prosecutor?
C'mon.
How does he know the Finau's never paid anything back?
He says he illegally terminated Tony Finau Corporation. Do we not have faith in the judicial system? If there's money to be owed, the lawsuit will take care of itself. The guy is suing for $16M. I think it's pretty simplistic to say Tony has the money just sitting around and should just pay it because Molonai says he's owed it. Andy keeps saying there's only 2 reasons you don't pay the money, both nefarious. How about a 3rd: you truly believe you don't owe it; not because you're above it but because someone is wrongly leeching?
Again, if Molonai is legally obligated to receive $16M or more, it will take care of itself. Utah is just as full of anti-Mormons as it is as Mormons. You can certainly find a fair trial.