Michael Kim’s 59 overshadowed another special round Friday at the 3M Open.
Muzzy Donohue’s 8-under 63 was for Marcey.
Donohue, the 25-year-old from nearby St. Paul, is making his PGA Tour debut this week at TPC Twin Cities via sponsor exemption, which was extended to him after he won the Minnesota Open by six shots earlier this month. But on Monday, Donohue’s breakthrough week got off to a heartbreaking start with the death of his grandmother, Marcey.
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Donohue is honoring Marcey’s life with a custom ball marker.
“Whenever I’ve been getting out of the present, I’ll kind of rub it, and that’s been my grounding piece this week,” said Donohue, who added he’s felt his grandmother’s presence while competing in front of the largest crowd he’s ever played in front of.
“The most fans I’ve had watching are maybe 50 at the State Open a few weeks ago. I just kind of tried to stay between the ropes and focus on what I could control. … My grandma was definitely with me today. Yesterday, she left me for the first 10 holes or so, then she kind of came into play.
“She’s looking down on me and looking out for me.”
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Donohue carded a pair of double bogeys on his second nine during a first-round 73 before remembering some advice he’d gotten on Wednesday night from two-time PGA Tour winner Steven Fisk, whom Donohue frequently plays and practices back home in Sea Island, Georgia, where he now resides.
“He told me that I belong here and that they’re all just normal guys out here,” Donohue recalled of the pep talk from Fisk. “I felt like I was getting pretty intimidated by all the big names, seeing all those guys on TV all the time, but he really calmed me down.”
Teeing off Friday morning on No. 10, Donohue got into a groove with six birdies on that opening nine, including four straight at Nos. 15-18. Once he got through the par-4 second, where he nearly put two tee shots into the water before making double on Thursday, Donohue added birdies at Nos. 3, 4 and 8.
“I’m not used to hearing some roars for the birdie putts dropping, so that’s super fun for me,” said Donohue, who enters the weekend at 6 under, eight strokes off Kim’s lead but just two outside the top 10.
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Donohue’s only blemish came on his last hole, the par-4 ninth, where he clubbed up from 171 yards out but chunked the 7-iron short and left of the green.
“Chipped it up there to 3 feet and then kind of woke up from my blackout and missed the putt,” Donohue said. “But that’s all right, it happens. I’m happy to move on from it because it was such a good day obviously.”
Not bad for a hockey player either. Donohue grew up on the 10th hole at North Oaks Golf Club and would often play the club’s 10-11 loop at twilight until it got dark, but he split his time between golf and hockey. He was a goalie for the St. Thomas Academy squad that went 24-3-1 and lost to Edina in the 2019 state semifinals.
Donohue went to college for golf, though, and played four years for Boston College. He then spent his grad year at Santa Clara before turning pro two summers ago. He’s yet to earn status on a major tour and recently has been struggling on the mini-tours and Q-Schools.
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At PGA Tour Americas Q-School back in March, Donohue was in position to earn his card before going out in 4-over 40 and shooting a final-round, 3-over 75 to miss by four.
“That was pretty hard for me to deal with,” Donohue said.
Donohue has now bounced back in a big way, earning himself a pair of weekend tee times. Maybe Fisk was right.
“Doing my best to stay in a moment,” Donohue said. “Stay away from those thoughts that bring me into the past, whether I hit a bad one or thinking about making the cut or the future or what else is going to happen if I keep playing well.”
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