Wolff finishes with eagle to win 3M Open
BLAINE, Minn. – Matthew Wolff made a 26-foot putt from the fringe for an eagle on the final hole to win the 3M Open at 21 under par on Sunday, beating Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke in a tense finish to the first-time PGA Tour event.
The 20-year-old Wolff struck his second shot on the 573-yard, par-5 hole from the fairway to the far left of the green where it landed just a few feet away from a bunker. He sank the dramatic putt in front of a packed 18th gallery at the TPC Twin Cities, before waiting to watch Morikawa just miss his eagle attempt from 22 feet.
When the ball rolled on the left edge and about 3 feet too long, Morikawa winced as Wolff hugged his caddie in celebration of the $1.152 million prize and his tour card just six weeks after winning the NCAA individual title with Oklahoma State.
“I’m really not an emotional guy, but tears came to my eyes,” Wolff said.
DeChambeau, playing directly in front of the Morikawa-Wolff pair, had just finished his up-and-down afternoon with an eagle to take the shortlived lead at 20 under. The lively crowd, which went five rows deep behind the ropes near the final green, roared when DeChambeau crushed his second shot 204 yards from the intermediate rough onto the green within 6 feet of the pin. The world’s eighth-ranked player sank that putt for one of the seven eagles on 18 during the final round in yet more humid, wind-free conditions. DeChambeau, who had two of his three bogeys in the tournament on Sunday, figured he was headed for a playoff as he walked off.
“I had no idea he would make that putt,” DeChambeau said, adding: “It’s so competitive now. Anyone can win on any week. It’s absolutely impressive.”
Playing in just his third tournament as a professional, all on sponsor exemptions, Wolff successfully fended off a steely finish by Morikawa, who also turned pro this summer after leaving Cal. The 22-year-old Morikawa, whose putt for birdie on the 17th hole barely horseshoed out, flashed Wolff a warm smile as the two embraced on the green. The pair of newbies shared the lead with DeChambeau after the third round at 15 under.
“The way we were playing today, it was going to go in. One of us was going to drop one in,” Morikawa said, adding: “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?”
Canadian Adam Hadwin was fourth at 18 under. Carlos Ortiz finished in a tie for fifth with Wyndham Clark at 17 under after using seven birdies, including three of the last four holes, to shoot a 64. Ortiz, a native of Mexico still seeking his first tournament victory as a pro, had missed the cut in seven of his previous 10 events.
Lucas Glover landed in a six-way tie for seventh place at 16-under, after teeing off 4½ hours before the MorikawaWolff group. He posted a best-of-theround 62, the fourth golfer in as many days here to reach 9 under. Glover, who won the U.S. Open in 2009 for his only major victory and just the third of his PGA Tour career, racked up 10 birdies to solidify his fifth top-10 finish of the season.
LPGA Tour
ONEIDA, Wis. – Shanshan Feng hit a 7-iron to 3 feet for a birdie on the final hole to close with a 9-under 63 and a one-shot victory over Ariya Jutanugarn in the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.
Feng won for the first time since November 2017.
Jutanugarn had a three-shot lead on the back nine until a bogey on the par-5 15th and a strong finish from Feng, who had three birdies in a four-hole stretch. Jutanugarn hit her approach to 2 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 64 to catch Feng, until the 29-year-old from China delivered the winning shot.
Feng finished at 29-under 259, two shots short of the LPGA record that Sei Young Kim set last year at the Thornberry Creek at Oneida course.
European Tour
LAHINCH, Ireland – Jon Rahm captured the Irish Open title for the second time in three years after shooting 8-under 62 in the final round to win by two strokes on Sunday.
It was the Spaniard’s second victory of 2019, after winning the Zurich Classic team event on the PGA Tour with Ryan Palmer in April, and the fourth victory in two years on the European Tour.
Rahm tamed the Lahinch links in western Ireland by making an eagle and eight birdies, including one from 3 feet at No. 14.