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Matthew Wolff

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This article is about the golfer. For the graphic designer, see Matthew Wolff (designer).

Matthew Wolff
Personal information
Full nameMatthew Brandyn Wolff
Born (1999-04-14) April 14, 1999 (age 25)
Simi Valley, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceJupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
CollegeOklahoma State University
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s)LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins1
Highest ranking12 (October 11, 2020)[1]
(as of November 17, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 2020, 2022
PGA ChampionshipT4: 2020
U.S. Open2nd: 2020
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award2019

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.

Early life and amateur career

Wolff 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

Wolff 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

Source:[17]

Professional wins (1)

PGA Tour wins (1)

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 United States Bryson DeChambeau, United States Collin Morikawa

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open United States Austin Cook, Scotland Martin Laird Laird won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Results 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
  Top 10
  Did not play

DQ = disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2022
The Players Championship CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

Results in World Golf Championships

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

  Did not play

NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
WD = withdrew
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. ^ "Week 41 2020 Ending 11 Oct 2020" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Romine, Brentley (May 27, 2019). "Not-so lone Matthew Wolff: NCAA champ so much more than just golf". Golf Channel.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Romine, Brentley (March 29, 2016). "Matthew Wolff (2017) commits to Oklahoma State". Golfweek. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Patterson, Eric (January 31, 2019). "Standout amateur Matthew Wolff dazzles in PGA Tour debut". theScore Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Romine, Brentley (May 31, 2018). "Instruction: College stars Braden Thornberry, Matt Wolff find success with unique golf swings". Golfweek. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Morfit, Cameron (January 31, 2019). "Oklahoma State amateur Wolff impresses with 67 at Waste Management Phoenix Open". PGA Tour. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  10. ^ Myers, Alex (February 1, 2019). "Golf Twitter has a new obsession in Oklahoma State amateur Matthew Wolff". Golf World. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  11. ^ Lavner, Ryan (June 6, 2019). "Wolff, Hovland to make pro debuts at Travelers". Golf Channel.
  12. ^ Johnson, E. Michael (June 19, 2019). "Viktor Hovland, Matthew Wolff turn pro at Travelers Championship and immediately cash in with equipment deals". Golf Digest.
  13. ^ Speros, Bill (July 7, 2019). "3M Open: Matthew Wolff captures 1st PGA Tour victory with thrilling finish". Golfweek. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  14. ^ "Wolff hurt by bad breaks, mistakes and DeChambeau at U.S. Open". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. September 20, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Heath, Elliott (July 1, 2022). "PGA Tour Confirms Further LIV Golf Suspensions". Golf Monthly. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  17. ^ "Matthew Wolff". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
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