Read more: Watch Out!! Jhonattan Vegas Nearly Takes Out A Cop With Wayward Tee Shot at 3M Open

It has been a long, bumpy road for veteran PGA Tour pro Jhonattan Vegas these past few years. After undergoing surgery on his right elbow in 2022 and then right shoulder in 2023, many wondered if the Venezuelan star would be able to recapture his winning form. But Vegas showed on Sunday at the 3M Open that he still has what it takes, sinking a pressure-packed birdie putt on the 72nd hole to secure his first victory in over seven years.

“You know, 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, you do all the right things because nothing feels better than this,” He said.

“This is a special place for me. I got a lot of friends that were here. It's a course that I really connected extremely well [with] three years ago when I came in second, so I knew it was a golf course that I had a great chance of playing well. Obviously, expectations were not trying to win, we're just trying to have a great week and obviously a great week turned into a win. I'm out of my head right now, so it's incredible.”

Jhonattan Vegas poses for a photo with his wife Hildegard, left, son Louis and daughter Sharlene after winning the 3M Open golf tournament at the Tournament Players Club, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Blaine, Minn. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Vegas entered the final round just one shot off the lead and hung around the top of the leaderboard for much of the day. When he reached the par-5 18th, four players were tied at the top heading down the stretch. 

But after punching out of a fairway bunker, the 39-year-old Vegas hurled an impressive approach to within three feet to set up a title-clinching birdie. He calmly sank the short putt to finish with a final round one-under 70 and a tournament total of 17-under par, beating rookie Max Greyserman by a single stroke.

While Jhonattan Vegas' final round score of 70 may not have been eye-popping, he proved he still has the clutch gene needed to win on the PGA Tour. After powering a massive 326-yard drive on the 72nd hole, the Venezuelan stood 209 yards from the pin with everything on the line.

Though he pulled his approach slightly, getting a fortunate kick onto the front left fringe, Vegas still faced a daunting 96-foot birdie putt. However, he had recently switched to the same putter as his Detroit triumph and showed confidence in his stroke. After nearly holing out, he tapped in the winning three-footer, capping a gritty weeklong performance.

Two putts for the win.@JhonattanVegas gives it a run from 99 feet. pic.twitter.com/gv0C1j4TDf

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 28, 2024

Meanwhile, rookie Max Greyserman nearly stole the show on the final hole. The gutsy 29-year-old hooked a phenomenal rescue club over the trees to set up a pressure-packed 79-footer, which he sank to briefly take the clubhouse lead at 17-under. It was an astute shot that embodied his aggressive "play to win" mindset. Both he and Matt Kuchar narrowly missed birdie chances that would have forced a playoff. 

“At that point in the tournament you've just got to go for it, so I just went for it,” said Max Greyserman. “Yeah, that's a conversation, you know, because as a rookie you want to get as many points as possible. Sometimes you're thinking about second or third place, not just the win. I hit that in the water, I make bogey or something and all of a sudden I'm coughing up 100, 200 FedEx Cup points, a lot of money, stuff like that. At the end of the day we play to win, right, so that was the kind of the conversation.”

Vegas, Kuchar, McNealy and Greyserman were all tied at 15-under through 14 holes, with the first three playing together and Greyserman having just the 18th hole left. With Vegas and Greyserman battling down the 72nd fairway, Kuchar and McNealy still threatened behind but could not convert the chances they needed. While it was not the result any hoped for, the dramatic finish at the 3M Open gave fans a memorable final act in another chapter of Minnesota golf lore.

“Certainly making the playoffs, keeping my job for next year, they're all checkmarks,” said Kuchar. “I normally like to check these off a lot earlier in the year than right now, but its the bed I made. Certainly helpful. It is on my mind, it is something that I know is kind of back there. 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.”

It was Vegas' fourth career PGA Tour victory, but first since successfully defending his title at the 2017 RBC Canadian Open, ending a drought of over six years and 363 days.

"That never crossed my mind. I've always fought through a lot of stuff to be sitting here,” Vegas said. ”The goal's always been to get into this position. Obviously, it came a little earlier than I thought it would, but I just kept working every day, kept seeing my therapist, kept seeing all my doctors. We knew we were on a good path, we just had to wait for the shoulder to respond. Luckily, it did for most of this week.”

In a post-round interview, Vegas expressed his elation at finally breaking through after battling injuries and thinking about hanging up his clubs. But he said he kept pushing through rehab and just wanted to get back to winning, calling it "the cherry on top of the cake" to share the victory with his family on-site to witness it.

“That was the cherry on top of the cake,” Vegas said. “In my house we've had a lot of talks, my boy's five, hadn't had a win since he was born. Lots of pictures of my daughter with trophies around the house, so my boy was asking me when am I going to have a picture with a trophy? Like I said earlier, there was a big cloud on top of my head because I need to have a win for him. It's even more special that they were here because a lot of times they're not. It just means the world. This is a big win for them and they're going to enjoy it more than I am, for sure.”

Vegas' victory is a testament to perseverance in overcoming injuries. It catapults him from outside the playoffs up to 66th in the FedEx Cup, ensuring his season will continue on a high with a two-year Tour exemption and masters invitation secured.

But perhaps the sweetest reward is seeing his seven-year struggle and perseverance pay off, as he is once again a champion on the PGA Tour and has regained his winning form.