Justin Thomas joins the youth parade to Augusta

The train of rookies heading to Augusta keeps on rolling.

Three weeks into the wrap-around PGA Tour season and three first-time winners have emerged. Justin Thomas, 22, actually brings down the average age of the threesome following victories by 23-year-olds Emiliano Grillo and Smylie Kaufman.

"We have all played against each other since junior golf and amateur and college golf," Thomas said. "We played so many times against each other. And, yeah, seeing them win was a little bit motivating."

Thomas shook off his narrow exclusion from reaching East Lake. He shook off not winning PGA Tour rookie of the Year that seemed his destiny. He shook off a near miss to Grillo in the 2015-16 season opener. He shook off a double bogey with only four holes to play Sunday. He shook off an overly aggressive birdie putt on the last that left him a testing par save to stay a shot ahead of Adam Scott. None of stopped Thomas from joining his good friend Jordan Spieth at Augusta.

"The only time I really was nervous and jittery was on 18 probably hitting that bunker shot," he said. "And obviously the putt, if you couldn't tell by how far past I hit it. But, yeah, I felt very comfortable all day, so that was a great feeling."

Thomas has been labeled a can't-miss kid along the lines of Spieth, but he kept just barely missing in his rookie season on tour. The victory in Malaysia actually came later than he expected.

"I expected to win a lot sooner than this, honestly," he said. "I always had high expectations for myself, and I definitely played well enough last year in some events to win. I understand that wining is difficult, and it doesn't happen that often. But I feel like with my game and if it's -- if I put the preparation in, and I'm doing the right things with my body and my rest, then I really feel like I can get myself there pretty good amount of times, just a matter of if I capitalize or not. So, obviously, it's a win, whatever, just a couple tournaments into my second year is great, but it would have been nice to win a couple last year, too."

Thomas is another headliner from the celebrated high school Class of 2011 that includes Spieth, Grillo, Daniel Berger, Patrick Rodgers and Ollie Schniederjans. Getting edged out at the Frys.com Open by Grillo made Thomas more determined to close out his next opportunity.

"Obviously, I had a great chance in California to win where Emiliano did, but that's how it goes sometimes," he said. "So, there wasn't really a lot I could do about it. I just needed to realize why I didn't win and just kind of -- I went back home last week, and I got to work to join them. So, it feels great."

Thomas had so much confidence that he would make it into the Augusta field that the automatic Masters invitation that came with his victory was a secondary perk in his mind.

"Honestly, I'm extremely excited about going to Hawaii before Sony," he said of the Tournament of Champions. "I think that's going to be awesome. Being a small field and the few guys that are there, I think that's really going to be a lot of fun and I've heard a lot of great things about it. Obviously the Masters is a great goal that I've had my whole career, too. But the thing is I could play my way into the Masters with good play before April and I only had three more tries to make it to Hawaii to Kapalua.

"So this is, I'm really excited about that. So I think that it changes a little bit with some of my schedule, but otherwise, I'm just going to enjoy a little bit tonight and get back to work for next week."

Here's how recent first-time qualifiers made it to the 2016 Masters Tournament (see more first-time qualifier capsules below secured entry list):

Justin Thomas, USA

AGE: 22

RANKING:  No. 36 in the OWGR after winning Frys.com Open

HOW HE GOT THERE: Won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

   Justin Thomas shook off a double bogey with only four holes to play and an aggressive birdie putt on the last to win his maiden victory in the PGA Tour's stop in Malaysia by a shot over Adam Scott. The only surprise is it didn't happen before now.

   “I expected to win a lot sooner than this, honestly," Thomas said. "I always had high expectations for myself, and I definitely played well enough last year in some events to win. I understand that wining is difficult, and it doesn't happen that often."

   Thomas, 22, is another member of the talented high school class of 2011, joining his good friend Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger and Emiliano Grillo at Augusta. Winning tournaments and reaching the Masters has seemingly been his destiny. He was fractionally shut out of reaching the Tour Championship as a rookie to book his first trip to Augusta, but he wasted little time rectifying that by becoming the third young gun in the first three weeks of the wrap-around season to secure a PGA Tour victory, following Grillo and Smylie Kaufman.

    "We have all played against each other since junior golf and amateur and college golf," Thomas said. "We played so many times against each other. And, yeah, seeing them win was a little bit motivating."

HE SAID IT: “Honestly, I'm extremely excited about going to Hawaii before Sony. I think that's going to be awesome. Being a small field and the few guys that are there, I think that's really going to be a lot of fun and I've heard a lot of great things about it. Obviously the Masters is a great goal that I've had my whole career, too. But the thing is I could play my way into the Masters with good play before April and I only had three more tries to make it to Hawaii to Kapalua."

Smylie Kaufman, USA

AGE: 23

RANKING:  No. 75 in the OWGR after winning in Las Vegas

HOW HE GOT THERE: Won the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

   Shot a final-round 61 to rally from seven strokes down to win in Las Vegas, surging to 16-under overall by playing the last 11 holes in 9-under par before waiting hours as six players eventually came up a shot short or catching him..

   “I dodged a lot of bullets coming down the stretch with guys coming in, and really just thankful to get the W," said Kaufman, who joined fellow newly-minted rookie Emiliano Grillo in winning the first two events of the wrap-around PGA Tour season.

   Only 23, Kaufman secured his card by finishing sixth on the Web.com Tour money list in 2014 despite missing as many cuts as he made (10 each) but making the most of them with a win, runner-up and pair of T4s. Las Vegas was only the fifth PGA Tour start of Kaufman's young career, having finished 10th the week before in the season opener and missing two cuts in 2015 and the 2014 U.S. Open.

HE SAID IT: “I can't even -- I mean, it's unbelievable. To be playing like ... if you would have told me I had a round at the Masters, if somebody was going to take me out and not completely with the Masters, just to play Augusta National, I would have freaked out. But now that I'm playing the Masters, it's a joke. It's unbelievable."

Emiliano Grillo, Argentina

AGE: 23

RANKING:  No. 36 in the OWGR after winning Frys.com Open

HOW HE GOT THERE: Beat Kevin Na in a playoff at the Frys.com Open.

   Two weeks after earning his rookie PGA Tour card by winning the Web.com Tour Championship, Grillo won again in his debut at the 2015-16 season-opening Frys.com Open in California..

   “This is the greatest moment in my life in golf,” Grillo said after making a birdie putt on the second playoff hole at Silverado after missing a short putt that would have won it the hole before.

   Only 23, Grillo is already a veteran of the European Tour. After winning the Argentine Open at the end of 2014, he climbed inside the top 100 after tying for second in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open after missing a 3-footer on the last hole. He enjoyed an exceptional season that hit its peak during the Web.com Finals series where he had finishes of 9th, T2 and the victory at TPC Sawgrass leading straight into his win in Napa.

    Grillo is no stranger to the Augusta area, having finished third in the inaugural Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in 2011.

HE SAID IT: “You say Masters, I can't believe it. This is awesome. This is great. When I got the card, after the Web.com Championship, you know, I saw I was 71, 72 in the ranks. I told my team, 'Hey, look, we got a chance of getting top 50 by the end of the year. Let's try to get it done.'"

(More first-time Masters qualifier capsules below field list at bottom of blog.)

CURRENT 2016 MASTERS FIELD

Here’s how the 73 players already qualified for the 2016 Masters got into the field (# signifies first-timers) :

CATEGORY 1 (19 players)

Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)

Angel Cabrera (1) - Argentina

Fred Couples (1)

Trevor Immelman (1) - South Africa

Zach Johnson (1, 3, 16)

Bernhard Langer (1) - Germany

Sandy Lyle (1) - Scotland

Phil Mickelson (1)

Larry Mize (1)

Mark O’Meara (1)

Jose Maria Olazabal (1) - Spain

Charl Schwartzel (1) - South Africa

Adam Scott (1, 12) - Australia

Vijay Singh (1) - Fiji

Jordan Spieth (1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 16)

Bubba Watson (1, 15, 16)

Tom Watson* (1)

Mike Weir (1) - Canada

Tiger Woods (1, 5)

Ian Woosnam (1) - Wales

CATEGORY 2 (4 players)

U.S. Open champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)

Rory McIlroy (2, 3, 4, 11, 15, 16) - Northern Ireland

Webb Simpson (2) -- through 2017

Justin Rose (2, 11, 14, 15, 16) - England -- through 2018

Martin Kaymer (2, 5) - Germany -- through 2019

CATEGORY 3 (2 players)

British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)

Darren Clarke (3) - Northern Ireland -- through 2016

Ernie Els (3) - South Africa -- through 2017

CATEGORY 4 (3 players)

PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)

Keegan Bradley (4, 13) -- through 2016

Jason Dufner (4) -- through 2018

Jason Day (4, 13, 15, 16) - Australia -- through 2020

CATEGORY 5 (1 players)

The Players Championship Winners (3 years)

Rickie Fowler (5, 11, 16) -- through 2018

CATEGORY 6 A&B (2 players)

Current U.S. Amateur champion (A, Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and runner-up (B)

#Bryson DeChambeau (5A)

#Derek Bard (6B)

CATEGORY 7 (1 player)

Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)

#Romain Langasque (7) - France

CATEGORY 8 (1 player)

Current Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion

#Jin Cheng (8) - China

CATEGORY 9 (1 player)

Current Latin America Amateur Champion

TBD Jan. 17

CATEGORY 10 (1 player)

Current U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion

#Sammy Schmitz (10)

CATEGORY 11 (10 players)

First 12 players (including ties) in previous year’s Masters

Paul Casey (11, 16) - England

Bill Haas (11, 16)

Charley Hoffman (11, 16)

Dustin Johnson (11, 12, 16)

Hunter Mahan (11)

Hideki Matsuyama (11, 16) - Japan

Ryan Moore (11)

Kevin Na (11, 16)

Ian Poulter (11) - England

Kevin Streelman (11)

CATEGORY 12 (3 players)

First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s U.S. Open

#Cameron Smith (12) - Australia

Louis Oosthuizen (12, 13, 16) - South Africa

Branden Grace (12, 14) - South Africa

CATEGORY 13 (1 players)

First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s British Open

Marc Leishman (13) - Australia

CATEGORY 14 (0 players)

First 4 players (including ties) in previous year’s PGA Championship

No additional qualifiers

CATEGORY 15 (12 players)

Winners of non-opposite PGA Tour events from previous Masters to current Masters

Steven Bowditch (15, 16) - Australia

Jim Furyk (15, 16)

#Fabian Gomez (15) - Argentina

#Emiliano Grillo (15) - Argentina

#Smylie Kaufman (15)

Chris Kirk (15)

Danny Lee (15, 16) - New Zealand

#David Lingmerth (15) - Sweden

Davis Love III (15)

Shane Lowry (15) - Ireland

#Troy Merritt (15)

#Justin Thomas (15)

CATEGORY 16 (13 players)

Qualifiers for previous year’s season-ending Tour Championship

Sangmoon Bae** (16) - South Korea

#Daniel Berger (16)

Harris English (16)

J.B. Holmes (16)

#Kevin Kisner (16)

Brooks Koepka (16)

Matt Kuchar (16)

Scott Piercy (16)

Patrick Reed (16)

Brandt Snedeker (16)

Henrik Stenson (16) - Sweden

Robert Streb (16)

Jimmy Walker (16)

CATEGORY 17 (x players)

Top 50 on final Official World Golf Ranking for previous calendar year

TBD Dec. 21

CATEGORY 18 (x players)

Top 50 on Official World Golf Ranking published week prior to current Masters

TBD March 28

Living past Masters champions not expected to play (13)

Tommy Aaron

Jack Burke Jr.

Charles Coody

Ben Crenshaw

Nick Faldo - England

Raymond Floyd

Doug Ford

Bob Goalby

Jack Nicklaus

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player - South Africa

Craig Stadler

Fuzzy Zoeller

* -- Tom Watson announced in July that 2016 will be his final Masters as a competitor

** -- Sangmoon Bae will miss Masters while serving mandatory duty in South Korean military

How other first-time qualifiers made it to the 2016 Masters Tournament.

Sammy Schmitz, USA

AGE: 35

RANKING:  No. 3,707 in the World Amateur rankings before winning U.S. Mid-Am

HOW HE GOT THERE: Beat Marc Dull 3 and 2 in the final of the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

    Sammy Schmitz aced the 26-yard, par-4 15th hole at the John's Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla., to take a 3-up lead with three to play and closed the match out with a par on the next hole.

   “It was fantastic,” Schmitz said. “It’s one shot, and you automatically win the hole. You get to walk to the next one.”

   Schmitz was the tournament's No. 8 seed after stroke-play qualifying. He was extended to the 18th hole in three of his six matches.

HE SAID IT: “Wish me luck at Augusta. The winters in Minnesota are very long. ... I don't think any Mid-Am has ever made the cut at the Masters. I'm pretty sure they haven't. I would love to be the first, if that's the case. But it's just real special."

Jin Cheng, China

AGE: 17

RANKING:  No. 33 in the World Amateur rankings before winning APAC

HOW HE GOT THERE: When the rain-shortened Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship after 54 holes.

    Jin Cheng, the top-ranked amateur in China, raced to the early lead in Hong Kong with a first-round 62 and hung onto the lead with subsequent rounds of 68-69 to maintian a one-shot edge before the final round was cancelled due to inclement weather.

    Jin led by one shot over Australians Ryan Ruffels and Cameron Davis with a third-round 69 despite the threat of a looming typhoon that brought high winds to Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. The critical shot came on his 54th hole at the closing par 5, when he chipped it close to make birdie and reclaim his one-shot lead that proved to be the clincher when the final round was cancelled the next day.

     "I was really lucky that I had a great lie," Jin said of his chip. "I did exactly what I wanted to do. It was a good shot."

    HE SAID IT: "Going (to Augusta) next year is just amazing for me. I’m so excited and looking forward to it."

Kevin Kisner, USA

AGE: 31

RANKING:  No. 35 in the world after qualifying for East Lake

HOW HE GOT THERE: Aiken native and former Georgia All-American reached the Tour Championship at East Lake to secure a spot in all four majors in 2016.

    Kisner's breakout season included losses in three playoffs -- at Hilton Head, the Players Championship and Greenbrier. He ran into red-hot world-class players in sudden death with Jim Furyk and Rickie Fowler on birdie tears. At Greenbrier. he hopped into a wretched lie to bow out of a four-man playoff.

     Consistency has been the staple for Kisner in his fourth full season on the PGA Tour. Since returning east from the West Coast swing where the grasses don't suit him, Kisner has missed only three cuts in his last 20 starts and posted five top-10 finishes as well as a tie for 12th in the U.S. Open.

    HE SAID IT: “It’s a lifelong dream and goal of mine to play Augusta. I grew up going to the tournament, grew up so close to there. My whole life has been working to play it and tournaments like that. Although it might be the biggest nightmare as far as logistics and people wanting to go watch, it would still be probably the greatest thrill of my career.”

Daniel Berger, USA

AGE: 22

RANKING:  No. 93 in the world after qualifying for East Lake

HOW HE GOT THERE: Berger reached the Tour Championship at East Lake to secure a spot in all four majors in 2016.

    Berger is yet another one of the new generation of rising superstars on tour to reach the Tour Championship as a rookie.

    The former Florida State star came very close to reaching the 2015 Masters by winning the Honda Classic in March near his hometown of Jupiter, Fla. Berger fired a career-low, 6-under 64 in the final round to surge into the clubhouse lead. He waited nearly an hour watching TV and hitting balls before Padraig Harrington sank a 16-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. On the second playoff hole at the par-3 17th, Berger hit his tee shot into the water to end his bid.

     Despite five top-10s and 10 top-25s in his rookie season through May, Berger slumped through his first summer on tour missing seven consecutive cuts from June through the end of the regular season. But his game came alive at the right time, tying for 12th at the Deutsche Bank and then contending and finishing xxxx in the BMW Championship to rally from 54th into the top 30 the last two weeks.

    HE SAID IT: “I want to be in that top 30 so I can play four majors next year, and it sets my year up for weeks to come. I've had a great year regardless of what happens.”

Bryson DeChambeau, USA

AGE: 21

RANKING:  No. 7 amateur in the world after winning U.S. Amateur

HOW HE GOT THERE: DeChambeau beat Derek Bard 7&6 in the 36-hole final of the U.S. Amateur.

    DeChambeau rolled through the match play en route to an historic victory at Olympia Fields, joining Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990). Tiger Woods (1996) and Ryan Moore (2004) as the only players to win the NCAA championship and U.S. Amateur in the same year.

     The confident SMU senior was a force to be reckoned with in every round, beating Robbie Saloman (8&6), North Augusta's Matt NeSmith (5&4), world No. 2 and Wa;ler Cup teammate Maverick McNealy (3&2) and British Open 54-hole leader Paul Dunne of Ireland (3&2) to reach the semifinals. With a shot at history and a Masters berth at stake, he never trailed in beating Sean Crocker (3&2).

     In the finals, DeChambeau was 2 down to Derek Bard of Virginia through seven holes before chipping in for birdie on the 8th to end a string of three straight lost holes. With the match all square through 13 holes, DeChambeau won 14, 15 and 16 to go 3 up. When Bard cut the deficit to 1 hole after 19, DeChambeau went on another tear winning seven of the next nine holes (three with birdies and one eagle) to take a commanding 8-hole lead before closing it out 7&6 on the 30th hole.

     “From then on out, I just said, put the pedal to the metal, hit shots close and let's play Bryson golf,” said DeChambeau.

     Asked if he would remain an amateur long enough to take advantage of his exemptions into the Masters and U.S. Open, DeChambeau said "Absolutely."

HE SAID IT: “I'm in golf history. That's pretty incredible. I don't understand it yet. I had a little bit of an understanding of what I just did, but I haven't felt the impact of it yet. There's only five guys that have done that, so it's pretty incredible. You had Tiger, Jack, Phil and Ryan Moore, right? So I'm the fifth guy. That's an honor to be in that field.”

Derek Bard, USA

AGE: 20

RANKING:  No. 51 amateur in the world before finishing 2nd in U.S. Amateur

HOW HE GOT THERE: Bard beat Kenta Konishi of Japan in the semifinal of the U.S. Amateur.

    Bard, a rising junior at Virginia, never trailed Konishi in the semifinals, the first time in the match-play that he didn't have to rally. The Sunnehanna Amateur winner made an inspired run to the finals.

    After falling 2 down at the turn, Konishi did square the match with wins on 10 and 11. But Bard reclaimed the lead on the 12th with a par when Konishi failed to get up and down from a buried lie under the lip of a bunker. With the momentum back, Bard won the 14th and 15th holes to go 3 up and closed it with a halve on 16.

    After shooting 2-over to qualify as a 45th seed in the match play, Bard beat Davis Riley (4&3), UGA golfer Sepp Straka (6&5), world No. 4 Hunter Stewart (2&1) and world No. 1 Jon Rahm of Spain (1 up) just to reach the semifinals. In the 36-hole final, he finally lost 7&6 to NCAA champion and world No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau.

HE SAID IT: “It's been my dream as a little kid playing golf to play in the Masters and be a professional player. I didn't think I would be playing the Masters when I'm 20 years old. It's definitely come a little earlier than I thought it would, if it ever did. I can't wait. It hasn't sunk in yet. It's all been kind of dreamlike for me here but I'm sure once I look back and reflect on all this, I'll realize that I'll be teeing it up with the best names in golf I guess in April.”

Troy Merritt, USA

AGE: 29

RANKING:  Jumped from No. 180 to about 95th in OWGR after winning at RTJ Golf Club.

HOW HE GOT THERE: Merritt shot 14-under par (61-67) on the weekend to surge to a three-stroke victory over Rickie Fowler in the Quicken Loans National at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

     It was a stunning turnaround for Merritt, who had struggled since missing out on a playoff at Hilton Head the week after the 2015 Masters. Merritt had missed the cut in seven of nine starts -- including five straight heading into the QL National -- since April, failing to finish better than T52 during that four-month stretch. "Nice to be playing the weekend after a  2-month break,” Merritt said on Twitter after making the cut. “Felt the time was right to play all 4 rounds instead of just 2."

     Before his victory, he was on the bubble for qualifying for the PGA Tour playoffs and retaining his tour card.

     Previously, Merritt's biggest payday came in 2010 when he won a playoff with Fowler and Aaron Baddeley to win the $1 million Kodak Challenge for having the lowest cumulative score on 18 of 30 selected holes over the course of the season. Asked what he'd do with the windfall, Merritt said "The first thing I'm going to do is buy my wife a brand-new car." 

HE SAID IT: Of his shrug after final birdie putt dropped: “It’s amazing how you know you can dream about winning a golf tournament your entire life and you got it scripted and when it happens, you’re not thinking.  You don’t remember what your name is. You’re just reacting.”

David Lingmerth, Sweden

AGE: 28

RANKING:  Jumped from 212th to 71st in OWGR after winning Memorial.

HOW HE GOT THERE: Made par on the third playoff hole to beat Justin Rose at Muirfield Village and earn his first PGA Tour victory.

     Lingmerth made a strong first impression as a PGA Tour rookie in 2013, reaching a playoff in the Humana Challenge in only his second tour start. A few months later he also tied for second in his Players Championship debut.

     It didn't come easy for him in the Memorial. He looked like a sure winner when Rose shanked a shot into the head of a spectator on the 72nd hole, but the Englinshman got up and down to force a playoff. Then Rose made a 20-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole, forcing Lingmerth to make his 10-footer just to extend the match.

     Lingmerth bolstered his credibility and name recognition with strong performances including stints atop the leaderboards at the British Open and PGA Championship.

HE SAID IT: "The Masters, it's been a dream for so many golfers. I've been dreaming about that tournament for so long, it's going to be awesome. I'm super happy about that.”

Cameron Smith, Australia

AGE: 21

RANKING:  No. 89 in OWGR after his finish at U.S. Open.

HOW HE GOT THERE: Smith delivered perhaps the shot of the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay when he came within inches of an albatross on the 72nd hole that vaulted him into a tie for fourth place.

     That shot and resulting eagle earned him not only a place in his first Masters but Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2014-15 season.

     A top Queensland amateur player, Smith turned professional as a teenager in 2013 and met with immediate success on the Asian and Australasian tours, including 10 top-10 finishes in 2014. He kicked off the 2015 season with a tie for second in the Queensland PGA Championship and a T4 in the New Zealand Open.

     Smith wasn't too shabby in his second major start either, finishing T25 at the PGA Championship.

HE SAID IT: “I can’t put it into words at the moment, to be honest,” Smith said after being told of all the spoils that came with his tap-in eagle, including a return to the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. “No, it still hasn’t really sunk in. No, I have no idea. Like I said, I’m speechless.”

Romain Langasque, France

AGE: 20

RANKING:  No. 28 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after his British Amateur win.

HOW HE GOT THERE: Langasque beats Scotland's Grant Forrest 4 and 2 in the 36-hole final of the British Amateur Championship in June at Carnoustie.

     Langasque, from Cabris in southern France, took charge in the morning round with three consecutive birdies to take a 4-up lead through eight holes that built to 5-up through 11. Forrest cut the margin to 3 down after the first 18, but fell behind seven holes in the afternoon and finally conceded on the par-3 16th hole.

     Langasque is the third French golfer to win the British Amateur, joining Philippe Ploujoux (1981) and Julien Guerrier (2006).

     The Amateur Championship not only got Langasque to Augusta, but it qualified him to play in the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews (where he tied for 65th) and the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. 

HE SAID IT: “This is just a dream for me,” said Langasque. “It is just incredible that I am going to play at St Andrews in one month’s time for The Open.”

Fabian Gomez, Argentina

AGE: 36

RANKING:  No. 131 after winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis.

HOW HE GOT THERE: Gomez shot four straight rounds in the 60s in Memphis, including a 4-under 66 in the final round to pull away from a share of the 54-hole lead with Greg Owen of England. He won by four strokes, becoming the fifth Argentinian winner on the PGA Tour joining Angel Cabrera, Roberto De Vicenzo, Andres Romero and Jose Coceres.

     His first victory not only brought him an automatic berth in the Masters but also earned Gomez fully exempt status on the PGA Tour through the 2016-17.

     Gomez honed his game with tips from his mentor along with playing many rounds with Cabrera. He already had won twice on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica in Buenos Aires in 2013 and 2014.

HE SAID IT: “Winning a tournament is a big thing because you have two-year exemption and after that probably play a little less stressful every week and not thinking too much 'Keep your card,' you know. Just only win another tournament. Even if I won many tournaments, winning here on the PGA Tour is something amazing, and I'm going to enjoy the moment with my family."