Golf

2024 PGA Tour: Jhonattan Vegas Overcomes Injuries and Pain to Win 3M Open

Published

3m ago

Jul 30, 2024 / 5216 Views

Evan Walker

Since the 2017 RBC Canadian Open, his third win on the PGA Tour, to now, Jhonattan Vegas had lost count of time. The wait for the next victory also led to a watering down of expectations. So, when Jhonattan Vegas accomplished what he had aspired for all these years at the 2024 3M Open on Sunday, July 28, all the 39-year-old Venezuelan could manage was a “Wow”.

The mind was struggling to register the moment, but Vegas had been through enough to put perspective to the moment amid the emotional turmoil. “In my head it doesn’t seem that it’s been so long, seven years,” said Vegas.

“It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. It’s been a lot of grinding, a lot of dealing with injuries, a lot of headaches, but these are the moments that you get up every day and you work hard for, you do all the right things because nothing feels better than this.”

Sweet victory for Jhonattan Vegas at 2024 3M Open

Weekend push

Going into Sunday with a slender one-shot lead, Vegas was required to hold on, which given the present and his low expectations seemed tough. Not since 2011, which ushered in his breakthrough on Tour at the American Express, had he converted a lead into a win.

History not on his side, Vegas skated on thin ice. After going deep for three days with rounds of 68, 66 and 63 at the par-71 TPC Twin Cities, Vegas was level-par when he landed on the 18th green, and staring at a pressure putt.

A birdie would have got him clear by a shot, and the win bringing with it benefits he hadn’t had access to for a long time. Else, a playoff with eager rookie and clubhouse leader Max Greyserman.

Walking a tightrope

The putt for birdie lay just 3 feet from the hole, but the mind is known to act unpredictably in such situations. More so, in Vegas’ case with the long string of obstacles leading to this week.

Like his limited playing options on Tour, Vegas had no choice. Missing out on a significant chunk of the 2022-23 season due to a right elbow injury, and comPeting currently on a major medical extension, time nor form were on Vegas’ side. All he had was belief.

“Obviously expectations were not trying to win, we were just trying to have a great week, and a great week turned into a win. It’s incredible,” said the champion after the one-shot win.

Happy hunting ground

Vegas is known to flourish on surfaces that suit his eye and style of play. Two of his wins have come at the RBC Canadian Open off consecutive seasons, Ontario’s Glen Abbey GC the scene of his triumphs in 2016 and 2017.

The 3M Open also measures up — Jhonattan Vegas had finished runner-up in 2021, and the win on Sunday makes him the first in tournament history with such a distinction.

“This is a special place for me. It’s a course that I really connected extremely well three years ago when I came in second here so I knew it was a golf course that I had a great chance of playing well,” said Vegas.

Keeping a July promise

A proven winner alright, but of late Vegas has been defined by injuries rather than his exploits on the Golf course.

What kept him going was the desire to prove himself once again and fulfil the promise to his five-year-old son Louis to snap a picture with the trophy.

His wins in Canada came in July, and the Vegas household has numerous photographs of daughter Sharlene with the trophies.
Since his advent, Louis had only seen his father trying to add to the trophy cabinet, and the innocent queries were taken seriously by Vegas.

“My boy kept asking me when am I going to have a picture with a trophy. There was a big cloud on top of my head because I needed to have a win for him. This is a big win for them and they’re going to enjoy it more than I am,” said Vegas, happy to keep the string of July wins going.

Broken body, strong spirit

Given the state of his body, wracked by multiple injuries, Vegas could only keep working towards the elusive win and hoping he could keep his word to Louis.

Despite limited starts and not-so strong results, Vegas kept playing through pain and surgeries in the belief that one day he would be surrounded by journalists eager for a piece of his journey from anonymity to glory once again.

Physical afflictions topping the list of ordeals, Vegas dwelt on them in length. “Beginning of 2022 I couldn’t figure out why, but my elbow wasn’t feeling great. The MRI showed a piece of bone had broken off and got stuck in the joint. So, I had to have surgery middle of 2022. Maybe, came back a little bit too soon, I started playing through it, not feeling great,” he said.

Last season signalled the start of his battle with the shoulder. “The bursa got very inflamed, very thick and it was hurting in the shoulder and had to have surgery in May of 2023. I came back beginning of this year not feeling 100 percent.”

Teeing off not feeling 100 percent is a condition Vegas has got used to, but to feel so on a day as critical as the Sunday gone by was a nightmare.

Telling himself to stay calm, Vegas knew he would be fine if he did not make big mistakes. He stayed clear, with some help from the Golfing gods, of course. The lucky break on the 12th was one of them as his erratic tee shot landed in the arms of a cop by the fairway, and he got a favourable drop.

Spoilt for choice

As it happens after a week like this, Jhonattan Vegas goes from counting the limited starts on his fingers — he had 10 left on his medical extension before the 3M Open, to having the luxury of planning his schedule through the 2026 season.

Assured of spots at the 2025 Sentry, Masters and PGA Championship, Vegas’ ascent from 147 to 66 on the FedExCup rankings now has him dreaming of making a mark in the FedExCup Playoffs next month.

As his caddie put it, Vegas is a fighter, and by not quitting he proved to himself that all it takes is a week to change the course of one’s career.

Rookie keeps pushing his case

Max Greyserman kept up the intensity he has displayed in his rookie season. Teeing off on the back of two top-10s in 20 starts, the 29-year-old posted his best finish by finishing a shot behind Vegas.

The solo second, courtesy birdieing six of his last nine holes for an 8-under 63 lifted him from 87th to 63 in the FedExCup, thus comfortably sealing his spot in the Playoffs.

“I just locked up my spot in the first Playoff event, so that’s big because that’s another huge point opportunity and hopefully continue to play my way up,” said Greyserman.

Milestone man

At 46, a lot of players ready themselves for life on the senior tour, but Matt Kuchar is cast in a different mould.

This week was critical for Kuchar in the bid for keep his all-present record at the FedExCup Playoffs intact. Since the inception 17 years ago, Kuchar is the only player not to miss the Business end till date, and he wasn’t going down without a fight despite languishing at No 153.

Sunday was ripe with anticipation as Kuchar teed off a shot adrift of Vegas, and a 9th career title seemed a distinct possibility. A win would have moved Kuchar inside the top-70, and Kuchar believed he belonged there, and there was no reason why he couldn’t keep his job for next season.

But it needed an effort better than the level-par Kuchar came up with, but the T3, his season’s first, nevertheless helped him gain ground. He now stands 111th, and a strong week at the Wyndham Championship could well help him slip into the band of 70.

“I don’t want to miss the Playoffs, don’t want to miss top-125, all those things you tend to try to check off somewhere on the West Coast, but here I am late in the year trying to still check them off,” he said.

(Main and featured images: PGA Tour)