Twenty-one year old rookie Aaron Wise made a miracle chip-in par late Saturday at the Wells Fargo Championship.
On Sunday he was just as impressive.
The former Oregon Duck golfer fired a final-round 68, three-under par, the best of any players who finished in the top 10.
At one point, Wise found himself tied for the lead at 10-under par after Jason Day made back-to-back bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes. Wise birdied the 14th to get to 10-under then played some clutch golf with three pars over the dreaded “Green Mile” closing holes.
He was looking at a solo second until Nick Watney holed a bomb from 59 feet at the 72nd hole to join Wise at 10-under par.
“I thought I legitimately had a chance to win,” Wise said after recording his best finish ever on the PGA Tour. “It was up and down for me today. At times I felt super calm then I’d get excited and I’d have to calm myself down. I played really great golf coming in.”
It was the third time in four days that Wise shot 68 and this was only his 25th appearance.
Wise needed a win to make it into next week’s Players Championship but this tie for second will go a long way toward getting him in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He may not be in The Players but his length off the tee and iron display at Quail Hollow put everyone on notice that there’s another young talent ready to win.
