Monday Finish: Brandt Snedeker opens and closes with a bang

BLAINE, Minn. – Matthew Wolff was a very interested spectator, waiting back in the 18th fairway on Sunday afternoon, as Bryson DeChambeau stood over an eagle putt that would give him the lead in the 3M Open. He saw the 7-footer drop and watched DeChambeau celebrate, clenching his fists and posing like the Incredible Hulk. Then Wolff, who was playing in the day’s final group, had to compose himself and hit across that gaping lake to the same green. He needed a birdie to tie and an eagle to win. Heady stuff, to be sure. Particularly for a 20-year-old with that unique, herky-jerky swing who was making just his third PGA TOUR as a professional, and fourth overall. Related: What’s in Wolff’s bag? | George Gankas breaks down Wolff’s unique swing | How Wolff is a ‘disruptor’ on TOUR “It was kind of a delay actually from the crowd roar to when I saw him throw the fist pump,â€� Wolff recalled later. “So, it was great playing by Bryson. He’s obviously one of the best players in the world and he’s proven himself.  To be able to have a chance against him is awesome. “But my mindset was kind of the same with that shot. I knew I was going to go for it… And when he did that, I kind of told myself … it would be pretty special to roll in an eagle and finish this deal off on 18. Kind of that little adrenaline boost, I guess kind of motivated me.â€� And Steve Lohmeyer, the caddie who just started working for Wolff this week, knew just what to say to his new boss. “You’re the best long iron player here this week,â€� Lohmeyer told Wolff. “Let’s show these people what you can do. We could see everything. It was actually really cool – we could see (DeChambeau) make it, and then I said, let’s just hit this golf shot.â€� Now, the 5-iron wasn’t perfect. It didn’t cut quite like Wolff had hoped. But it settled up against the collar off the green, and there was just 26 feet of real estate standing between him and what would be a life-changing victory. Wolff later admitted he was shaking a little as he surveyed the putt. Lohmeyer liked the read, though, and stepped away as Wolff took several deep breaths. Finally, he hit the ball and watched intently until it got about a foot from the hole. He knew it was in. Wolff stepped forward, pumped his fist and yelled “come on,â€� just like he had when he won the NCAA’s individual title in May. It was his time.  “I’ve been told so many times before that I was born for moments like these, I live for moments like these,â€� Wolff said. “It doesn’t get better than this. “I had a blast out there, and to make that putt was everything. You know, for me it was just kind of staying calm, doing what I do. And not a lot of putts were dropping today. I kind of told myself, you know, this wouldn’t be a bad time for one to go my way. … “It was the most excited I’ve ever been. I’m usually not an emotional guy at all, but tears definitely came to my eyes when I stepped off and picked that ball up out of the hole.â€� Tears flowed again after Collin Morikawa, Wolff’s long-time friend and Sunday’s playing partner, missed a 25-footer for an eagle of his own that could have forced a playoff. Wolff hugged Lohmeyer, burying his face in his caddie’s shoulder, and both men cried. “He was just telling me how proud of me he was,â€� Wolff said. “And it’s something that we talked about since the beginning of the week just being myself and I didn’t really say much because I was crying. “But just all the work that he’s done has been really helpful and I really appreciate everything … and I’m looking to a great future with him.â€� And that future has changed dramatically for Wolff, who now has his PGA TOUR card until the end of the 2020-21 season and a ticket to the FedExCup Playoffs. As recently as last week when he missed the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, the Californian remembers sitting in his hotel room wondering if he’d made the right decision leaving Oklahoma State after his sophomore season to turn pro. He didn’t feel comfortable with his game. Everyone was shooting 20, 25-under and he wondered if he was good enough. Wolff even saw a tweet earlier this week where someone had taken a picture of his TOUR finishes, implying he was overrated. Tied for 50th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open when he was still an amateur. Tied for 80th at the Travelers Championship in his pro debut and last week’s missed cut. Instead of getting mad, though, Wolff used the slight to his advantage. “There’s always people who are going to go out there and put you down a notch,â€� he said. “There’s always people who will go out there and tell you you’re the best player in the world. “I think that kind of motivated me a little bit, but at the end of the day it’s all talk and what you believe is the most important thing and who you have around you is the most important.â€� One of those people is OSU assistant coach Donnie Darr, who texted Wolff on Saturday night after he seized a share of the lead with Morikawa and DeChambeau. Darr reminded Wolff that he won six tournaments last year – more than anyone in the field at the 3M Open — and to draw on that experience in the final round. “He was pretty much telling me, he goes, ‘You can do it.  Your winning is no different at any level, it’s about being in that moment, it’s about handling it, staying calm, staying present,’â€� Wolff remembered. “That kind of hit with me.  You know, I know how to win, I know how to seal the deal and I live for moments like that putt or those clutch moments where you have to step up to the stage.  And that’s what I did. “It was awesome.â€�

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The Korn Ferry Tour heads to Indiana as the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance tees off Thursday at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh. FIELD NOTES: Will Gordon and David Lingmerth, winners of the first two Korn Ferry Tour Finals events respectively, are both in the field and looking to continue their recent good form … Paul Haley II, however, is first on the season-long Eligibility Points List with a second-place finish last week at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He finished birdie, bogey to end two shots behind Lingmerth, but it was good enough to overtake Carl Yuan in the season-long points standings. Yuan is also in the field … Robby Shelton is the only two-time winner on Tour this year and he is playing in the finale. He won both the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX and the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna … Michael Gligic, Henrik Norlander and Joseph Bramlett, winner of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, locked up their returns to the PGA TOUR with their respective performances at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. All three men are in the field this week. COURSE: Victoria National Golf Club, par 72, 7,242 yards. Designed by Tom Fazio in 1998, the club is part of a private 18-hole facility which was built atop Peabody Coal Company’s abandoned Victoria strip mine located in the southwestern corner of Indiana, seven miles from Evansville. Those same strip mines were active from 1950 until 1977. The club hosted the Korn Ferry Tour’s United Leasing & Finance Championship from 2012-2018, during which the likes of Smylie Kaufman and Seamus Power won before eventually going on to win on the PGA TOUR. Victoria National started hosting the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2019. The club also hosted Legends Tour events in 2003 and 2004 and the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2006. KORN FERRY TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP 72-HOLE RECORD: Jonathan Byrd (2017), 24-under 260 total (Atlantic Beach Country Club) * Tom Lewis holds the Korn Ferry Tour’s low 72-hole total at Victoria National, winning the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Championship at 23-under 265. VICTORIA NATIONAL COURSE RECORD: 63; Chris Baker, 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Championship, Sebastian Vazquez, 2016 United Leasing & Finance Championship STORYLINES: The Korn Ferry Tour season comes to a close with plenty of PGA TOUR cards still on the line in the Hoosier State. There has been so much movement over the last two weeks and there will be so much more this week. Here’s a refresher on what’s on the line. Fifty PGA TOUR cards are awarded at the end of the season on Sunday at Victoria National. The first 25 were determined via the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Eligibility Points List; these 25 names were finalized after the Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, although they are still jockeying for position during the three-event Finals. The next 25 cards (The Finals 25) are awarded via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals Eligibility Points List, which will be finalized Sunday at the conclusion of the championship. The top eight on the current list have crossed the fail-safe threshold (210 points) to secure #TOURBound status. The winner of both the cumulative season-long list and the player who earns the most points in just the three Finals events will both earn spots in THE PLAYERS. The season-long leader will also earn a spot in the U.S. Open … Hurly Long, Seung-Yul Noh and Sean O’Hair are tied for 23rd place on The Finals 25 and Patrick Fishburn is in 26th place. Chris Gotterup, Grayson Murray and Carson Young are tied for 27th place. Four-time PGA TOUR winner Aaron Baddeley is 30th. The aforementioned eight players, all who are hovering right around the line of demarcation, will be in Indiana looking to lock up PGA TOUR playing privileges for next season … Former Air Force Captain Kyle Westmoreland is chasing his first TOUR card after a T9 last week moved him to 17th on The Finals 25 … This is the final year of the current Finals format. Beginning in 2023, PGA TOUR cards will be awarded as follows: 30 from the Korn Ferry Tour, 10 from the DP World Tour, and five (and ties) from Q-School. LAST TIME: Joseph Bramlett pulled away from the pack to win by four shots and finished at 20 under. He joined a list of 24 other graduates who secured PGA TOUR membership through the Finals points standings. Bramlett and Trey Mullinax were in a tight battle late on Sunday before Bramlett outdistanced his competitors by posting seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch. “Extremely excited, yeah, I can’t wait,” Bramlett said. “It’s a really, really big deal.” (Note: Bramlett tied for sixth place last week at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and locked up PGA TOUR status for next season.) Others who clinched their PGA TOUR cards with good showings last year at Victoria National were Mullinax, Hayden Buckley and Sahith Theegala, who just played in the TOUR Championship last week at East Lake and finished No. 28 on the FedExCup. Justin Lower earned the final card, edging Taylor Montgomery by 5.273 points. (Montgomery has since earned his TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season.) HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Local favorite Rafael Campos took a share of the lead Saturday in the PGA TOUR’s Puerto Rico Open, waiting out a series of rain delays to shoot a 5-under 67 at windy Grand Reserve. The 32-year-old from San Juan followed a birdie on the par-4 17th with a bogey on the par-5 18th to drop into a tie for the lead with Grayson Murray at 14-under 202. “I know there’s a lot of things that can basically change my life tomorrow,” Campos said. “But truth is, I’m just really happy. I have been playing good golf the last two weeks, and I really want to keep that mindset of the work I have been putting in the last four months, I’m starting to see good results. “I think I will just focus on that, focus on playing the golf course the way I know how to play it, be aggressive when I have to be aggressive, and be conservative when I obviously don’t feel comfortable. So, yeah, I really don’t want to think about tomorrow. I just want to go out and hopefully play some good golf.” Murray bogeyed 17 and birdied 18 in a 65. Cameron Percy (67) and Branden Grace (68) were a stroke back. Play was delayed three times for about an hour total in the afternoon because of the short, heavy downpours. With expected heavy rain overnight and into the morning, the final round will feature threesomes off split tees. Campos has two top-10 finishes in the event, tying for eighth in 2016 and tying for 10th in 2017. After missing the cuts in seven of eight events to start the PGA TOUR season, he tied for seventh last week in Florida in a Korn Ferry Tour event. In 2019, he won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic to become the first Puerto Rican winner in Korn Ferry Tour history. The former Virginia Commonwealth player played the front nine in 3 under, with birdies on the par-5 second, par-4 third and par-5 fifth. He also birdied the par-4 10th and 12th. “I felt today I hit the ball very well, with the exception of the last couple of holes,” Compos said. “But I’m really happy with where I’m standing right now, and I really think I can’t be in a better position basically for tomorrow. Hopefully, just kind of keep doing the same thing we’re doing. I really feel comfortable with my swing.” He won’t get to play in front of many of his fans Sunday because of coronavirus restrictions. “It feels very weird only seeing them for like three holes out of 18 holes,” Campos said. “So I got my mom, I got my wife, I got family supporting me. So that’s all I really need right now. And, obviously, I feel the great positive energy the fans actually give me, either text messages or out here on the course.” The tournament is being played opposite the World Golf Championships event in Florida. The winner will get into the PGA Championship in May. Murray won the 2017 Barbasol Championship, also played opposite a WGC event, for the 27-year-old former Arizona State player’s lone TOUR title. “It’s been a long time since I have been in a situation like this, but I’m not afraid of the moment,” Murray said. “And at the end of the day, you still got to play good golf, no matter — no matter who’s chasing you or who I’m chasing.” He birdied five of the first nine holes. “I had the putter rolling and just kind of kept it rolling throughout the round,” Murray said. “We had to stop and start. We were a little unfortunate, but they were quick. And the PGA TOUR did a good job of kind of keeping us out there and not bringing us in each time.” Second-round leader Brandon Wu (71) was 12 under with Andrew Putnam (67) and Nelson Ledesma (68). “Had to scramble a little bit harder today,” Wu said. “I think it was playing tougher, the start and the stop, the rain, crazy conditions.”

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