Matthew Brandyn Wolff (born April 14, 1999) is an American professional golfer. He was an NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State University, and won the 2019 NCAA Division I individual championship. Wolff picked up his first win on the PGA Tour at the 2019 3M Open. He joined LIV Golf in 2022.
| Matthew Wolff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Matthew Brandyn Wolff | ||
| Born | April 14, 1999 Simi Valley, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||
| Residence | Jupiter, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Oklahoma State University | ||
| Turned professional | 2019 | ||
| Current tour(s) | LIV Golf | ||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 1 | ||
| Highest ranking | 12 (October 11, 2020)[1] (as of November 17, 2024) | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| PGA Tour | 1 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 2020, 2022 | ||
| PGA Championship | T4: 2020 | ||
| U.S. Open | 2nd: 2020 | ||
| The Open Championship | DNP | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early life and amateur career
editWolff was born on April 14, 1999, in Simi Valley, California, to Bill and Shari Wolff. He grew up in a Jewish family, but converted to Christianity during his time in college. He stated in 2019: "To put my identity in Christ and know that there's a lot more to me than just a golfer, it took the pressure away from golf".[2] Wolff was raised in Agoura Hills, California, started playing junior golf at the Lake Lindero Country Club's Lindero Kids Summer Sports Camp and attended Westlake High School. He finished runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Championship.[3] After initially committing to play college golf for the University of Southern California, Wolff withdrew his commitment to attend Oklahoma State.[4] In his first year, he earned four runners-up, first-team All-American honors, and the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation's top freshman. He also made the putt to clinch the 2018 NCAA Division I Championship for Oklahoma State.[3] While attending Oklahoma State University, Wolff was also a part of the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) fraternity.
Wolff began his sophomore season with back-to-back stroke play titles at the Carmel Cup and the OFCC Fighting Illini Invitational, which he followed up by sharing medalist honors at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate.[5] The three consecutive wins brought Wolff to the top of the college rankings.[3] He made his PGA Tour debut at the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open after receiving a sponsor's exemption.[6]
In addition to his results, Wolff's unorthodox golf swing has drawn attention.[7][8][9][10] To get more rotation, he employs a left leg kick that he picked up from playing baseball, and uses the ground to create power.[3]
Professional career
editWolff turned professional in June 2019 and made his professional debut at the Travelers Championship.[11][12]
On July 7, 2019, Wolff earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, where he returned a six-under par 65 in the final round to edge out Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at 21-under par overall. The tournament went to the final green, as DeChambeau, playing one group ahead of Morikawa and Wolff, made an eagle on the par-5 18th hole to leapfrog them both and take a 1-stroke lead. Wolff then hit his approach onto the edge of the green, 26 feet from the hole; he made the putt for eagle to retake the lead, and when Morikawa failed to make his putt to tie, the victory belonged to Wolff. The victory gave Wolff a two-year PGA Tour exemption, in addition to $1.152 million in prize money.[13] Wolff was the first player since Billy Hurley III in 2016 to win after receiving a sponsor exemption. He was also only the third player to win an NCAA title and PGA Tour event in the same calendar year, joining Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw.
In August 2020, Wolff finished in a tie for fourth place at the PGA Championship, his first major championship appearance, after a final-round 65 (five-under par). Six weeks later, in September, he led the U.S. Open at Winged Foot by two strokes heading into the final day after returning a third-round score of 65 (five-under par), the joint lowest round of the tournament. A final round of 75 (five-over par) saw him finish as runner-up, six strokes behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. His second top-five finish from his first two major championships earned him $1,350,000.[14]
In June 2022, Wolff joined LIV Golf,[15] and was subsequently suspended by the PGA Tour after playing in his first event.[16] He has recorded three top-10s since his LIV Golf debut, most notably finishing tied for second in Bedminster, two shots behind winner Henrik Stenson.
Amateur wins
edit- 2018 The Carmel Cup, OFCC Fighting Illini Invite, Royal Oaks Intercollegiate
- 2019 The Amer Ari Invitational, Valspar Collegiate, NCAA Division I individual championship
Source:[17]
Professional wins (1)
editPGA Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 7, 2019 | 3M Open | 69-67-62-65=263 | −21 | 1 stroke |  Bryson DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa
|
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 | Shriners Hospitals for Children Open | Austin Cook,  Martin Laird
|
Laird won with birdie on second extra hole |
Results in major championships
editResults not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | DQ | CUT |
| PGA Championship | T4 | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | 2 | T15 | |
| The Open Championship | NT |
DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship
edit| Tournament | 2022 |
|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Results in World Golf Championships
edit| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | WD | |||
| Match Play | NT1 | T28 | T60 | |
| Invitational | T24 | T49 | T17 | |
| Champions | NT1 | NT1 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
WD = withdrew
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.
U.S. national team appearances
editAmateur
- Palmer Cup: 2018 (winners)
References
edit- ^ "Week 41 2020 Ending 11 Oct 2020" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (May 27, 2019). "Not-so lone Matthew Wolff: NCAA champ so much more than just golf". Golf Channel.
- ^ a b c d Lavner, Ryan (October 29, 2018). "'Oh s---, he's going to be such a huge disruptor': Introducing, Matthew Wolff". Golf Channel. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (March 29, 2016). "Matthew Wolff (2017) commits to Oklahoma State". Golfweek. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Herrington, Ryan (October 24, 2018). "Matthew Wolff just did something no other men's golfer at tradition-laden Oklahoma State has ever done before". Golf World. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Patterson, Eric (January 31, 2019). "Standout amateur Matthew Wolff dazzles in PGA Tour debut". theScore Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Berhow, Josh (May 29, 2018). "Watch: OSU's stellar freshman has a unique, unconventional swing that's paying off big time". Golf Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Romine, Brentley (May 31, 2018). "Instruction: College stars Braden Thornberry, Matt Wolff find success with unique golf swings". Golfweek. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Morfit, Cameron (January 31, 2019). "Oklahoma State amateur Wolff impresses with 67 at Waste Management Phoenix Open". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Myers, Alex (February 1, 2019). "Golf Twitter has a new obsession in Oklahoma State amateur Matthew Wolff". Golf World. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Lavner, Ryan (June 6, 2019). "Wolff, Hovland to make pro debuts at Travelers". Golf Channel.
- ^ Johnson, E. Michael (June 19, 2019). "Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff turn pro at Travelers Championship and immediately cash in with equipment deals". Golf Digest.
- ^ Speros, Bill (July 7, 2019). "3M Open: Matthew Wolff captures 1st PGA Tour victory with thrilling finish". Golfweek. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
- ^ "Wolff hurt by bad breaks, mistakes and DeChambeau at U.S. Open". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ Schlabach, Mark (June 27, 2022). "Matthew Wolff departs PGA Tour for LIV Golf, which also welcomes Eugenio Chacarra, Carlos Ortiz". ESPN. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ Heath, Elliott (July 1, 2022). "PGA Tour Confirms Further LIV Golf Suspensions". Golf Monthly. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ "Matthew Wolff". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
External links
edit- Matthew Wolff at the PGA Tour official site
- Matthew Wolff at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Profile on Oklahoma State's official athletic site
