By Rahul Banerji
Arjun Atwal did not end the inaugural 3M Open the way he would have liked, with a double bogey and two bogeys against five birdies on Sunday, but it gave him a respectable tied 23rd place finish on 13-under par.
More importantly, it earned the 46-year-old an invitation to next week’s John Deere Classic, which meant he will not have to rush off for Monday qualifying as he had needed to do for the 3M Open.
On a day PGA Tour rookie Matthew Wolff was the toast of the golfing world with victory in only his third professional start, Atwal also had the satisfaction of rising 31 places to 253 in the FedEx Cup standings.
“Thank you for giving me a spot @JDCLASSIC .. So glad I don’t have to Monday qualify after driving six hours to Moline from Minneapolis!! Atwal tweeted after his Sunday round.
Open hope
It also gives Atwal a chance to qualify for the Open that gets under way at Royal Portrush in Ireland on July 18. One spot is reserved from the JD Classic from the top five finishers at TPC Deere Run in Illinois next week.
Shubhankar Sharma is currently the only Indian in the field having qualified as the 2018 Asian Tour’s Order of Merit winner besides being in the Race to Dubai top 30.
But the spotlight on Sunday was reserved of Wolff and fellow newbie Collin Morikawa, who was tied second alongside world no. 8 Bryson DeChambeau at the 3M Open. Wolff had to pull out his best for the outright win and eagled a 26-foot putt to finish on 21-under 263.
‘Doesn’t get any better’
“I’ve been told so many times before that I was born for moments like these, I live for moments like these,” Wolff was quoted as saying afterwards on the PGA Tour website. “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 one’s bound to drop. … 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.”
“It still hasn’t settled in. It’s just a dream come true. It’s life-changing,” added Wolff, who can now play on the PGA Tour until 2021, and has entry to next year’s Masters and US PGA Championship.
Kuchar, Thomas for Hero Challenge
In Edinburgh, meanwhile, defending champion, Matt Kuchar will head a field of two major champions and a host of European Tour winners at the year’s second Hero Challenge.
Kuchar, world no. 13, and the only past winner of the Hero Challenge in the field, will also be attempting to become the first to win the Challenge more than once at its ninth edition, this time at the Renaissance Club.
Kuchar sees the Hero Challenge as the beginning of his Links campaign as will play the Scottish Open and The Open, the final major n the revamped 2019 golf calendar. He was runner-up in 2017 and ninth in 2018, also fourth at the 2017 Scottish Open.
Kuchar, who first played the Hero Challenge in 2017, won it at the iconic Edinburgh Castle last year.
This year’s second Hero Challenge will be held at the par three 15th hole at the Tom Doak-designed Renaissance Club.
The six-man field at the Hero Challenge includes 2017 PGA winner Justin Thomas, and 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell, both making a debut at the night golf contest on Tuesday.
The others are Hero Challenge debutant and two-time European Tour winner Lucas Bjerregaard, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Tyrrell Hatton.
The year’s first Challenge was won by English golfer Tommy Fleetwood ahead of British Masters he also hosted this May.
Also read: Arjun Atwal sizzles on first day of 3M Open in Minnesota
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