In the inaugural 2019 3M Open, Matthew Wolff claimed his first victory on the PGA TOUR with rounds of 69-67-62-65 to finish at 21-under-par at TPC Twin Cities. He finished in dramatic fashion, with an eagle on the 72nd hole to win by one shot over fellow All-American standout Collin Morikawa and another golfer with a unique swing, World No. 8 Bryson DeChambeau. As the world’s top amateur and coming off a six-win collegiate season that included the NCAA individual title, Wolff had the makings of a player to be reckoned with someday on the professional circuit. In just his third start as a professional and fourth start in a PGA Tour event, he has certainly impressed and took the golf world on by storm, especially with his golf swing.
At the age of 20 years, 2 months, 23 days, Wolff is the youngest tour winner since Jordan Spieth, who was not yet 20 when he won the 2013 John Deere Classic. Wolff joined Ben Crenshaw and Tiger Woods as the only men to win the NCAA individual title and a tour event in the same year. After winning the Jack Nicklaus Award and Fred Haskins Award given to the top collegiate golfer, Wolff toyed with the idea of remaining an amateur through the summer and playing for the U.S. in the Walker Cup in September. But then he figured — correctly as he just proved — that he should take the leap after accomplishing all he wanted in two years at Oklahoma State. That included not only registering a five-stroke victory for the NCAA individual title six weeks ago, but also sinking the winning putt for the Cowboys to capture the 2018 team championship.
“Who could have scripted having two of the youngest kids on tour battling for it,” Hollis Cavner, 3M Open executive director, said. “We called the tour and asked them had they ever seen this, with two sponsor’s exemptions in the final group, and they said there’s no way. And then the way it unfolded. Unbelievable.”
Wolff, of course, immediately becomes a tour member with a two-year exemption. Among the events for which he is eligible next year is the Masters, scheduled to end two days before his 21st birthday. Morikawa, who settled for a decent consolation prize, now having enough FedEx Cup points in just four events to enjoy special temporary membership, meaning he is eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions.
Source: Golf Digest
