Dylan

Wu

Wu started on the 10th tee today and scribbled par-bogey to begin the day. From there, he went birdie-birdie-albatross-birdie to find himself at 5-under for the day. “I didn’t see it land and then like a couple seconds later the crowd went wild. It was pretty surreal. I didn’t even see the shot go in and lost the ball halfway through the -- when it was in the middle of the air. It was a pretty crazy moment there, so it was really fun.” The rollercoaster wasn’t over, though, as he traded two bogeys with a birdie and an eagle on the homeward nine. Wu has top 25s in three of his last six starts but still sits at just 101st in the FedExCup race.

The 23-year-old popped with a runner-up finish at The American Express but slowed his pace with five straight finishes outside of the top 50 before last week’s early exit at the WGC-Match Play. His potential remains through the roof but we won’t see any of that this week at TPC San Antonio. He currently ranks 43rd in the FedExCup race.

Wu impressed with a T20 finish in his tournament debut last year and he’ll look to repeat that success this week. Playing on conditional status, the 26-year-old missed the cut in his first start of the season but did collect three paychecks before the fall schedule ended (T67, T49, T46 at the Sanderson Farms, Bermuda Championship, and RSM Classic). Wu opened last year’s Sony Open with rounds of 65-66 to find himself in a share of fifth place which remains his best position after any round on the PGA TOUR. His T20 finish is also his best PGA TOUR finish (excluding the Zurich Classic team event). Perhaps that success at Waialae CC will provide some confidence heading into the week.

Hahn has a steady 7-for-9 record at Waialae Country Club including a runner-up finish at the 2018 edition. He won’t be adding to that record this week as he’s a Monday WD, with no reason cited. He went 2-for-4 in the fall with a T27 at the Houston Open to sign off before the holiday break. Gamers should remove him from all weekly lineup considerations.

Wu went out in calm conditions on Thursday morning and took advantage with eight birdies to erase a lone blemish. Steady striking was the name of the game as he split 10-of-14 fairways and pelted 17 GIR. The Northwestern product arrived without much form to speak of as this will actually be his first round posting inside of the top 40 since the Barbasol Championship in July (five missed cuts and a T67 in that span). Wu is certainly flipping the script early at Port Royal but he’ll need to keep his foot on the gas for three more days with the field averaging more than three shots under-par today.

The 25-year-old, who celebrates his birthday in 12 days (July 20th) and is making his tourney debut, is in desperate need of a big week, arriving 168th in the FedExCup standings. He’s off to a promising start after posting rounds of 66-67 (11-under 133), both error-free, and is the only player to accomplish that of the 75 players from his side of the draw. At the halfway pole, the Northwestern alum has tallied 11 birdies, landed 19 (of 28) fairways and 30 (of 36) greens in regulation, and at last glance, posted a 4.458 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.109 SG: Putting. He owns two top 25s in 22 career events, including a T10 at the Zurich seven starts ago teamed w/ fellow rookie Justin Lower, and a T20 on debut at the Sony back in January, where he was T5 at the midpoint (65-66-70-66).

The 25-year-old was a first-team all-Big Ten selection during his final season at Northwestern. He likely has many fond memories of playing on courses around the Chicago area. Now, he’ll get a chance to make his PGA TOUR debut in the state. The rookie arrives with a 9-for-19 record this season with a pair of top 25s as the highlights. Currently sitting at 169th in the FedExCup race, he’ll need one or two big finishes over the next six weeks to catapult himself inside of the coveted top-125 bubble. Wu is currently leaning heavily on the flat stick, ranked 81st on TOUR in putting but 179th in strokes gained tee-to-green.

It was not the Monday finish Munoz had in mind as he struggled out of the gates of the final round and eventually fell into a tie for 33rd-place. Unwilling to play just two days later, Dylan Wu has gained entry into the field with Munoz’s withdrawal. This will be the 25-year-old’s 11th start of the 2021-22 season with his best result coming in the Sony Open when he finished in a tie for 20th. Making his debut at the Valspar Championship, perhaps some crossover between Honolulu and the Tampa area will appear.

The Northwestern alum got his day started with a 152-yard approach shot that ended up 15 inches from the pin. That would be a sign of what was to come as he would gain 3.63 strokes on approach before his day was over. Other highlights included a 212-yard approach at the par-5 ninth that he stuffed inside of five feet and converted the eagle. It’s still early in his TOUR career but this is easily the best approach round on his resume (+2.2 SG:Approach in round two of the 2021-22 Sanderson Farms Championship). Wu has done well to start fast in PGA TOUR events. He’s now been T21 or better after round one in 5-of-7 events played but still searching for his first top 30 on the big stage.

The Northwestern alum made his way to the main stage with a 29th-place finish last season in the Korn Ferry Tour Priority Ranking, buoyed by his maiden win 14 weeks ago at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. This is his fifth career TOUR event, third as a member, with his best finish a T31 at last season’s 121st U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in his major debut (70-73-74-71). The 25-year-old, who arrived 1-for-2 on the season (T47, Fortinet), has posted laps of 69-69 and today’s career-low 66, totaled one eagle and 13 birdies versus six bogeys, and ranks T8 in greens in regulation at 74.07 percent (40/54), including his week best of 15 today.