Watch: PGA Tour Rookie Wins in Just His 3rd Pro Tournament with Incredible Final Shot
Matthew Wolff. Remember that name, because you will be hearing it a lot more on the PGA Tour.
The 20-year-old won his first PGA Tour event Sunday in just his third professional tournament. And he did it in dramatic fashion, draining a 26-foot eagle from the fringe on the 18th hole to win the 3M Open at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.
Wolff had been tied with his playing partner, Collin Morikawa, at 19-under heading into the last hole. They were one shot behind Bryson DeChambeau, who had just eagled 18 to go to 20-under.
After a drive in the fairway on the 573-yard par-5 18th, Wolff managed to sneak his second shot onto the far left fringe of the green, just missing the bunker.
That set the stage for the dramatic eagle putt that gave him the lead for good at 21-under.
AMAZING! ?@Matthew_Wolff5 makes EAGLE to win! ?
It’s the 20-year-old’s first PGA TOUR victory.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/LYMXFIduPI
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 7, 2019
“I was shaking, to be honest,” Wolff said of the putt on 18, Sports Illustrated reported. “A lot of my putts weren’t going in today, and I was just kind of telling myself one’s bound to drop in. It happened at the right time. Just gave it a chance and it went over the right spot that I pointed out.
“And as soon as it dropped, the tears started coming. It’s a really special feeling.”
Morikawa had a chance to send it to a playoff with an eagle putt from 22 feet, but he missed, giving Wolff his first of what will likely be many PGA tour wins. For his efforts, Wolff took home the $1.2 million prize and won his tour card.
Just six weeks earlier, on May 29, Wolff, who went to Oklahoma State, won the NCAA Men’s Individual Golf Championship by five strokes.
.@Matthew_Wolff5 reflects on his incredible PGA TOUR win @3MOpen: ? https://t.co/eAi6xd7u05
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 7, 2019
“I’m really not an emotional guy, but tears came to my eyes,” Wolff said of his win, PGATour.com reported.
Morikawa, 22, is also a tour rookie, leaving the University of California, Berkeley this summer to turn pro. He finished sixth in the 2019 NCAA Men’s Individual Golf Championship.
“The way we were playing today, it was going to go in. One of us was going to drop one in,” Morikawa said, according to PGATour.com. “I hit a really good putt. I thought it was good from the start and once it got about halfway I knew it was a little low. What can you do?”
DeChambeau was stunned, thinking he’d at least be in a playoff.
“I had no idea he would make that putt,” DeChambeau said, according to PGATour.com. “It’s so competitive now. Anyone can win on any week. It’s absolutely impressive.”
This was only the third professional tournament in which Wolff has competed.
He got a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale, where he finished in a tie for 50th.
Wolff then got another sponsor’s exemption to play in the Traveler’s Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, where he finished in a tie for 80th.
Now he is a winner on the PGA Tour.
“It’s something that changed my life forever,” Wolff said, according to Sports Illustrated. “It’s something I’ll always remember. To do that with all the nerves and trying to get my Tour card, it’s pretty special to me.
“It still hasn’t settled in. It’s a dream come true.”
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