Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2019 - 24

Lumpy's Ace:
Fireworks & Lager
at the 3M Open
The 3M Open began on the 4th of
July, so there were local fi reworks in
the opening round. On the
par-3 No. 8, course codesigner
Tom Lehman
hit an iron over the
green to a spot across
a cart path, mere inches
from a penalty area. After
a ruling and a free drop, Lehman
chipped high above a TIO to a shortsided
fl agstick and nearly jarred it.
His ball rolled 21 feet past the hole,
but Lehman curled the putt in for an
all-world par.
Tim Herron, a fellow Minnesotan,
TROY MERRITT
Sunday. " When I made the turn,
I
knew my game [had] been playing
well, and I just kind of went out there
to make birdies. But to come back and
shoot 6-under on the back was really
special-defi nitely a lot of momentum
heading in. I love being out here. This
is exactly what I've wanted to do my
entire life. "
Giving Your All
Falling one stroke shy of his sixth PGA
Tour victory, DeChambeau experienced
a whirlwind of emotions in a
matter of minutes late Sunday.
" I'm pleased, " he said. " Obviously,
[I'm] disappointed that I didn't win.
I knew I could win. It was frustrating,
especially coming up No. 18-walking
up No. 18, signing the scorecard and
going, 'All right, there's going to be a
playoff,' especially seeing where they
were. I had no idea [Wolff] would
make that putt. I gave it my all. I knew
21 was going to be the number and I
tried to get there, and unfortunately
the par-5s weren't nice to me this
week, except on No. 18.
" Congrats to Matt. Unbelievable to
make that and win for his fi rst PGA
Tour title. Hats off to him-he's a
great player and obviously a stud, so
he belongs out here. "
Spring Lake Park High School gradBRYSON
DECHAMBEAU
uate Troy Merritt fi red a fi nal-round
68 Sunday to fi nish tied for seventh
at 16-under 268. Meanwhile, former
two-time MGA Amateur champ Tom
Hoge, of Fargo, N.D., closed with a
67 to fi nish tied for 23rd, 13-under
par 271. Former Gopher and the 1996
Open champion Tom Lehman fi nished
tied for 58th-his best fi nish
in a PGA Tour event since the Open
Championship in 2013. MG
was the next player on the tee. He
hit a fi ve iron to the green, where the
ball took one bounce and landed in
the cup-igniting the crowd surrounding
the green. When Herron reached
the green, he looked in the hole and
said, " it's still in there. "
Herron grabbed the ball and gave
it to a young patron before walking
to the edge of the green. He
then raised his arms in celebration
toward Lehman, who was walking
down the 9th hole fairway and
waved back. Herron didn't redesign
the TPC course-which Lehman did-
but he did introduce a beer called
Lumpy's Lager (by Excelsior Brewing
Co.) at the event, which might have
come in handy.
" I told him 'Lumpy's Lager [is available]
for the house,' " Lehman said
when asked about the ace on top of
his scrambling par. " [There are]
a lot of people
out here for
him to take
care of. "
TIM HERRON
24
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2019
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Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2019

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