This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
When researching Aaron Wise, golf's newest sensation who won the AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, Shaquille O'Neal popped into our heads. And if name-dropping Shaq can pique your interest just enough to read about a rain-delayed, horrible-field, anticlimactic golf tournament, then, frick, we're gonna do it.
It was O'Neal who early in his NBA career famously said, "I've won at every level, except college and pro."
Which brings you back to Wise. He won the NCAA men's Division I golf championship playing for Oregon just two years ago at age 19, turned pro and won on Canada's Mackenzie Tour two months later at age 20, then won on the Web.com Tour as a 21-year-old. Now, still 21, Wise is a PGA Tour champion, having stared down world No. 16 Marc Leishman to win by three strokes at Trinity Forest Golf Club.
There's something to be said for winning tournaments, no matter the level or competition. Wise clearly had learned to close the deal early and often. He's the third rookie and sixth Web.com grad to win a PGA Tour title this season, but he's easily the best of that bunch.
"It's crazy to think this would be my senior year of college," said Wise, a South African who moved to the United States at age three, told the Golf Channel after closing with a 7-under 65.
This was no easy win, despite the three-stroke margin. First, Wise (and all the golfers) had to endure
When researching Aaron Wise, golf's newest sensation who won the AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, Shaquille O'Neal popped into our heads. And if name-dropping Shaq can pique your interest just enough to read about a rain-delayed, horrible-field, anticlimactic golf tournament, then, frick, we're gonna do it.
It was O'Neal who early in his NBA career famously said, "I've won at every level, except college and pro."
Which brings you back to Wise. He won the NCAA men's Division I golf championship playing for Oregon just two years ago at age 19, turned pro and won on Canada's Mackenzie Tour two months later at age 20, then won on the Web.com Tour as a 21-year-old. Now, still 21, Wise is a PGA Tour champion, having stared down world No. 16 Marc Leishman to win by three strokes at Trinity Forest Golf Club.
There's something to be said for winning tournaments, no matter the level or competition. Wise clearly had learned to close the deal early and often. He's the third rookie and sixth Web.com grad to win a PGA Tour title this season, but he's easily the best of that bunch.
"It's crazy to think this would be my senior year of college," said Wise, a South African who moved to the United States at age three, told the Golf Channel after closing with a 7-under 65.
This was no easy win, despite the three-stroke margin. First, Wise (and all the golfers) had to endure a four-hour rain delay. Then he had to play alongside a three-time champion and tough veteran in Leishman.
Asked on the Golf Channel how he maintained focus during the long wait before playing, Wise said he sat in the hotel room with his mom.
Yes, Wise is very young. But just two weeks after finishing as corunner-up to Jason Day, he's going to start being compared to others who won at such an early age, notably Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.
Entering Quail Hollow, Wise was ranked outside the top-200 in the OWGR. His second-place finish got him inside the top-100. Now, having played in just 26 PGA Tour events, he's up to No. 66 in the world.
Lots of guys on Tour have a few good weeks a year, maybe keep their cards but really never make a dent. In this weak field, there were lots of them: Ryan Blaum, Kevin Tway, Brian Gay, Ethan Tracy, Matt Jones, Bronson Burgoon, Joel Dahmen, Derek Fathauer and Robert Garrigus all finished in the top-25. Chances are good most of them won't cash such a big check the rest of the season.
But Wise proved he's different, even in a weak field. Besides his lineage of winning, Wise easily could've exhaled after winning more coin in a week at the Wells Fargo than most 21-year-olds make in a decade. But he kept his foot on the gas, the sign of a champion.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Marc Leishman
Leishman was the overwhelming betting favorite heading into the final round. And then he was overwhelmed. But we suspect history will treat him kindly – in other words, this will be just the first of quite a few titles for Wise. For Leishman, this was his second runner-up and sixth top-10 of the season. There's no reason to suspect a disappointing Sunday will overly impact a continued run of top-10s.
Branden Grace
Grace had had a largely quiet season, with just one top-10 coming in. But he closed with a 10-under 62 to zoom all the way to a tie for third. Grace and his wife recently became first-time parents. If he can get enough sleep, Grace is no doubt eyeing the upcoming U.S. Open, at which he's finished top-five in two of the past three years.
J.J. Spaun
Spaun had a promising fall season, which included a runner-up at the RSM Classic. But he had been dreadful since the calendar flipped to 2018, failing to cash in seven of his 10 starts heading into the Nelson. So is Spaun's tie for third a sign of returning to his early-season success or an aberration? We think the latter. But we're not going to go so far as to lump him in with the other top-25s mentioned earlier.
Keith Mitchell
The way Mitchell's season started, he was looking at a return to the Web.com Tour. But he's turned in three top-sixes in the past two months, including a T3 at Trinity Forest. He had another great showing in Texas (Houston Open), so Mitchell is worth consideration this week at Colonial.
Kevin Na
Na looked awesome all week and wound up tying for sixth. But it was only his second top-10 and third top-25 in 15 starts this season. Aside from those three events, he's really had an awful season. Please, don't look at the Nelson and believe that "Na is back."
Adam Scott
It was a heartbreaking end for Scott, who just missed climbing into the top-60 in the OWGR, which would've gotten him into next month's U.S. Open. The good news is, with a T9 at the Nelson a week after a T11 at The Players, the former No. 1 is rounding into form and should crack the top-60 by the next cut off on June 11. Scott might even take a big step forward this week at Colonial, where he has won before.
Hideki Matsuyama
It was only a tie for 16th, and in a scrub field, but it has to be seen as progress for Matsuyama. The Japanese star had had only one top-20 since returning from a hand injury in late March (albeit in the Masters). But Matsuyama shot a 63 on Friday and a 66 on Sunday and had only six bogies all week. Most impressively, he was fifth in the field in strokes gained: putting.
Sergio Garcia
We can't claim to know why Garcia's golf has been awful, but we surely know it's been awful. Since finishing fourth at the Valspar in early March, Garcia's only cash in a stroke-play event was a T70 at The Players. Otherwise, he's 0-for-4 in cuts. We don't know how anyone can back Garcia until at least seeing a glimmer of his game returning.
Brandt Snedeker
We're now more than halfway through the season, and Snedeker doesn't have so much as a top-10. He missed his third straight cut at the Nelson, giving him six trunk-slams in 14 starts. Snedeker did have a couple of top-25s last month, so he hasn't been Garcia-bad, but he's another guy who is hard to support right about now.
Grayson Murray
Murray withdrew from the Nelson with a back injury, but he's in the field at Colonial this week. Depending on the prices, it might be a good week to avoid Murray, just to see how he responds.
