The Citizen (KZN)

Wolff is making a ‘Major’ impact

- Mamaroneck

– American Matthew Wolff’s howl was reduced to a whimper in the final round of the US Open on Sunday, as his charmed run for a maiden Major golf title came up short.

Locked in a two-man race with hard-hitting Bryson DeChambeau in his first-ever US Open, the 21-year-old couldn’t match his opponent’s power or finesse despite heading into the finale with a two-stroke lead, carding a fiveover par 75, 10 strokes more than he put up the previous day.

The affair began to unravel as Wolff carded three bogeys in the front nine. An eagle on the ninth had no impact, as DeChambeau was able to equal the performanc­e on the par-five hole en route to the win.

After exiting the course, Wolff struggled to pinpoint one specific flaw in his game, telling reporters: “It is what it is. I felt like my ball striking was really good. There was a couple of shots, a couple of three-woods that I hit that were really uncharacte­ristic,” he said.

“I’m not looking to have a consensus of how I got bad breaks out there, but I definitely can say that it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Despite the loss, Wolff, the runner-up to DeChambeau in July’s Rocket Mortgage Challenge as well, has nonetheles­s already made an impact in his short time in the Majors, finishing at last month’s PGA Championsh­ip tied for fourth.

Finishing four rounds at an even par, he said there were plenty of positives he would take from Winged Foot Golf Club.

“I played really tough all week. I battled hard. Things just didn’t go my way,” said Wolff, who was bidding to become the first debutant to win the tournament since 1913. “But first US Open, second place is something to be proud of and hold your head up high.

“I’m just excited to learn from this experience,” –

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