Matthew Wolff wins 3M Open in dramatic fashion

The CBS announcers thought the best case scenario for Matthew Wolff was a two-putt to force a playoff as he stood over a heavy breaking 25-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota.

The former Oklahoma State standout golfer sank the putt to win his first PGA tournament in just his third start, which is tied for the fourth quickest victory ever. At 20 years old, Wolff is the ninth youngest PGA Tour winner in history.

Wolff no longer has to worry about earning a PGA Tour card through FedExCup points or the Korn Ferry Tour, as the win grants him two years with the big boys. He also qualified for two of next year’s majors — the Masters tournament and PGA Championship.

“I just proved to myself I can be out here,” an emotional Wolff said in a post-round interview with CBS. “This I week I just really believed in myself and it all took care of itself. It’s still settling in.”

Wolff is the third player in history to win the NCAA individual championship and a PGA Tour title in the same year, joining Tiger Woods (Stanford) and Ben Crenshaw (Texas).

It looks like Wolff’s swing coach George Gankas was right when he told the Golf Channel last fall, “I know for a fact that he’s going to change the world of golf. People are going to lose their minds.”

The 3M Open leaderboard was jam packed all day, with up to six golfers being tied for the lead at one point. But going into the last hole the title was between Wolff, Collin Morikawa, and Bryson DeChambeau — who eagled the par-5 18th to put the pressure on the two young phenoms. Neither of them felt it; Wolff thrived in it.

Morikawa missed his eagle putt to tie Wolff, and tied DeChambeau for second at twenty under par.

Another former Cowboy in Viktor Hovland also played well, finishing at 15 under in a tie for 13th.

Wolff, Morikawa, and Hovland are establishing themselves as one of the best classes of newcomers the PGA has ever seen.