Done matriculating and ready to embark on professional careers together, four former collegiate stars differing in age and backgrounds posed for a photograph at the Travelers Championship two weeks ago.
Standing side by side, their arms latched together, that captured image just might link Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Justin Suh forever, no matter where their separate careers now take them.
On Saturday, those very young careers took Wolff and Morikawa to the top of the inaugural 3M Open's leaderboard, where the 2019 NCAA individual champion and the former Cal star are tied with five-time tour winner Bryson DeChambeau at 15 under par.
They lead Wyndham Clark and Adam Hadwin by one shot and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, Charles Howell III and former Minnesotan Troy Merritt by two.
The highest-placed major champion on the leaderboard is 1996 British Open winner and Alexandria, Minn.- raised Tom Lehman, tied for 27th after shooting three rounds in the 60s.
Just 20, Wolff followed 62s posted Thursday by first-round leader Scott Piercy and Friday by second-round leader DeChambeau with his own Saturday on a TPC Twin Cities course that again played mostly soft without a typical blustery Blaine breeze for a third consecutive day.
Wolff did so with a twitchy swing and booming distance that playing partner Tom Lehman — three times Wolff's age — likened to the debut of a guy named John Daly, not for similar styles but the same kind of flexible swing and "jaw-dropping" length.
"Every time I play with somebody, it's a different swing than mine," Wolff said when asked about playing alongside Lehman's compact swing.