Matthew Wolff never quite reached the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – he can thank Oklahoma State University teammate and fellow US PGA Tour rookie Viktor Hovland for that – but he has already made a meteoric and historic rise in the Official World Golf Ranking thanks to his dramatic win at the 3M Open.
When the new ranking was released overnight, Wolff, who arrived in Minnesota as the 1,659th-ranked player in the world, moved up a whopping 1,524 spots. For those of you not good at maths, Wolff is all the way up to No.135. Quite the quick climb for the 20-year-old, to say the least.
In fact, according to Twitter’s most referenced OWGR guru, “Nosferatu”, that is the second-biggest jump since the ranking’s inception in 1986, surpassed (barely) only by Michael Arnaud’s 1,529-spot move after his surprising Korn Ferry Tour victory last year.
To those asking about the highest ever weekly #OWGR jump…
In absolute terms, that belongs to Michael Arnaud who climbed 1529 places after his #KFTour win last year. Wolff's jump is 2nd with 1524 places.
However, 🐺's jump is much more impressive in relative terms…
— Nosferatu (@VC606) July 8, 2019
Of course, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Wolff, who is one of the most hyped golfers to turn pro since Tiger Woods in 1996, get into the winner’s circle. Although, to do it in just his third start as a pro exceeded even the most bullish projections for the reigning NCAA player of the year.
Fellow rookie Collin Morikawa finished T-2 at TPC Twin Cities and vaulted from No.631 to 213th and earned enough money for special temporary status on the PGA Tour. Bryson DeChambeau, who also finished one shot behind Wolff, moved up from eighth to No.6, while Brooks Koepka maintained his hold on the top spot. At least, for now. There’s a Wolff in the rearview mirror. And he’s closing quickly.
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