Wolfe maintains lead, wins Wichita Open at Crestview to claim 2nd Korn Ferry Tour title
There were no fans in attendance this week at the Wichita Open, but tournament winner Jared Wolfe received the full Wichita experience — at least weather-wise — in Sunday’s final round.
It only took a matter of minutes for calm conditions to quickly turn into a thunderstorm with 30 mph winds, which caused an 80-minute weather delay for Wolfe, the wire-to-wire leader Sunday, to navigate.
After he made a four-foot par putt on the 72nd hole at Crestview Country Club to secure a one-stroke victory and win the 31st annual Wichita Open title with a four-day total of 16-under, Wolfe still couldn’t get over how quickly the weather changed in his victory celebration.
“I don’t know what you guys call that here, but we call that a tornado in Kentucky,” Wolfe, a Louisville native who currently lives in Florida, quipped. “And in Florida, we call that a hurricane.”
Wolfe, a 32-year-old Murray State product who turned pro in 2010, won for the second time this season on the Korn Ferry Tour and is now one win away from a “battlefield” promotion, which would automatically promote him to the PGA Tour if he can secure another win over the next year.
Wolfe’s 72-hole total of 264 edged out final-round partner Taylor Pendrith by one stroke. Brad Hopfinger, an University of Kansas graduate, finished in a tie for third place with a four-day total two strokes back of Wolfe.
“It’s very validating and very confirming of a lot of things that I work on and a lot of the time and effort I put in,” Wolfe said. “Thankfully, I had a short-game epiphany and it paid off huge. You just go back and forth in your head about little things that happened and you’re thankful for the reasons that got you here, and I’m humbled by it and very happy.”
After low scores dominated the first three rounds, Sunday’s sudden turn of nasty weather turned the final round into a battle of attrition. That’s why Wolfe, 1-over with a round of 71 Sunday, finished with the highest final-round score of any tournament winner in the Wichita Open’s three-plus decades.
Wolfe’s victory didn’t look like it was going to come down to the final putt after he made eagle on the par-5 No. 14 to take a three-shot lead over Pendrith with four holes remaining. But he nearly gave it back on the very next hole, as Wolfe bogeyed and Pendrith birdied on No. 15.
“I made the perfect tee shot and the perfect second shot and then made the putt,” Wolfe said. “That was a huge eagle and it proved in the end that it maybe was what put me over the edge.”
Wolfe clung to a one-stroke lead entering the final hole and was playing from behind when his approach shot on No. 18 was well short of the green. Pendrith pinned his shot about 15 feet from the hole.
Needing a good chip, Wolfe delivered and left himself a four-foot par putt to swing the pressure back to Pendrith. With the chance to potentially force a playoff, Pendrith pushed his putt to the right and watched in disappointment as it never came back.
Wolfe said that Sunday was the first time he’s had to make a putt to win a tournament.
“It didn’t help that it was cold, so my hands were already shaking enough,” Wolfe said. “But I knew everything was on the line. I thought about my caddie and about my family back home.
”All of those emotions hit you at the same time, but you still have to make a four-foot putt. It was special and I am so thankful to come out ahead.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 5:23 PM.
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