At the 3M Open on Sunday, Jhonattan Vegas triumphed for the first time in over seven years after making a 3-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 1-under 70 and a one-shot victory over Max Greyserman.
Vegas finished the windy TPC Twin Cities with a 17-under 267 round. The 39-year-old Venezuelan’s victory was his fourth on the PGA TOUR and his first since he won the RBC Canadian Open twice in a row in 2017.
Vegas made a flawless drive on the 598-yard, par-5 last hole after more than 11 minutes of waiting on the tee box. After yet another long delay, he hit his 7-iron approach to the green’s far left corner, leaving a 96-foot putt.
Vegas, who had not 3-putted all week, lined up his short victory with excellent timing on his long eagle try.
The 29-year-old rookie on the PGA TOUR, Greyserman, took the lead with an 8-under 63, which included a 30 on the back nine, topped off with an incredible birdie on the 18th.
He missed his drive to the left, but from 260 yards out, he nailed a powerful draw with a 4-iron through three trees. He two-putted for a birdie and his lowest score of the year after the ball landed on the green, 79 feet from the pin.
Shortly after, Vegas tied Greyserman at 16 under after making a 4-hole birdie on the 15th hole this week.
Matt Kuchar (71), and Maverick McNealy (70) finished two strokes behind. While McNealy is still without a victory, Kuchar was aiming for his first since the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Leading player after two rounds, Taylor Pendrith (67), came in seventh at 14 under, one stroke ahead of Kurt Kitayama (66), Patrick Fishburn (70), and Sahith Theegala (70).
In the FedExCup rankings, Vegas and Greyserman advanced to the top 70, securing their spots in the FedExCup Playoffs, which start in 3 weeks.
In the FedExCup standings, Greyserman began the week ranked 88th. Kuchar, the only player to make it to the playoffs every year since they started in 2007, was six positions ahead of Vegas in position 149. Kuchar, 46, climbed 44 places to rank No. 111.
