Brandon Wu, who played at Stanford, closed with a 6-under-par 66 thanks to three birdies on the last five holes to win the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
Tournaments at Maridoe are among the few pro events that have been played during the Coronavirus pandemic, and all prize money goes to charity.
Wu, who helped Stanford win the 2019 NCAA Championship and played on victorious United States teams in the Pan-American Games and the Walker Cup before turning pro and competing on the Korn Ferry Tour, posted a score of 67-70-66—203, 13-under-par, while Scheffler wound up at 67-68-70—205.
“I knew it was going to be tough to take down Scottie,” the 22-year-old Wu said afterward. “He’s an unbelievable player and he’s been having a great year, but I just tried to stick to my game plan.
“I thought the field was definitely a unique experience for everyone, but I thought it was really exciting. I have a bunch of friends still playing in college that I got to compete against once again and a bunch of pros that I had grown up watching on TV, as well, so that was a fun mix.
“ … It was cool just to be able to play golf again.”
Scheffler, who was 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year after winning twice and now plays on the PGA Tour, won a similar tournament at Maridoe last month.
Amateur Parker Coody, a sophomore at Texas, was third at 70-66-70—296, followed by Will Zalatoris at 71-68-68—207, while Austin Smotherman shot 72-70-68—210 to tie for fifth with Stephan Jaeger, who wound up at 72-64-74—210.
Abraham Ancer of Mexico, who captured the 2018 Australian Open, was seventh at 71-70-70—211, while Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who won the 2019 Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour, totaled 68-70-74—212 to tie for eighth with amateur Zach Bauchou of Oklahoma State, who finished at 74-67-71—212 and amateur Cooper Dossey of Baylor, who came in at 69-71-72—212.
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