If you haven’t seen Oklahoma State Cowboy golfer Matthew Wolff swing a golf club, you need to check him out.
Wolff, who was named the best freshman in the nation last season, receiving the Phil Mickelson Award, has a swing that looks like a roller coaster — it goes up, out, around then drops with a lot of speed.
Wolff, who is playing in the Phoenix Open on a sponsor exemption, is right up there in the standings after his first round 67 left him tied for 11th.
A quick glance down the standings and he’s the only one with the “a” in front of his name.
Yet he beat defending champion Gary Woodland (68), two-time champion of the event Hideki Matsuyama (68) and Mickelson (68), whose name is on the trophy Wolff won last year.
Even better, Wolff matched world No. 7 Jon Rahm.
Wolff’s caddie this week at the TPC Scottsdale is his swing coach, George Gankas.
Gankas is the only instructor who didn’t want to chance Wolff’s unusual action.
“I think Matt can honestly be a top 10 player in the world; I told him that from the very start,” said Gankas last year. “The reason I say that is just because of this unique move and the ability to repeat is off the charts.”
That swing was working just fine for Wolff, who seemed unfazed by the Phoenix crowds and the fact he’s in his first-ever PGA Tour event.
“I’m not really like anyone; my swing is pretty different,” Wolff said of his golf swing. “People would probably rank it as bad, but it works so I keep on using it.”
And Wolff is a perfect example of the old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” adage.
That first round 67 spoke pretty loudly to that.
