- Matt Boldy tees off Thursday in a PGA TOUR Americas event in Brainerd, Minnesota
- The Wild winger is coming off Olympic gold and a career-high 42 goals
- Read below for what Boldy said about Milan and Minnesota’s next step
Matt Boldy is closing out his summer inside a professional golf field.
The Minnesota Wild winger tees off Thursday at the CRMC Championship at Cragun’s Legacy Courses in Brainerd, Minnesota, a PGA TOUR Americas stop he got into on a sponsor exemption. Teammate Ryan Hartman is in the 156-player field too, along with former Vikings receiver Adam Thielen.
Golf and Boldy have been a package deal all summer. He used his Olympic gold medal as a ball marker at the American Century Championship in July, set it down on the green, then rolled the putt in like it was nothing:
Boldy played Wednesday’s pro-am before the tournament starts, and he was asked there about winning gold with Team USA in Milan.
“You definitely look back and reminisce, and you’re proud of yourself and the team and what we did for the country. It’s something I’ll never forget.”
He told NHL.com’s Heather Rule that the 2-1 overtime win over Canada still gives him goosebumps six months later.
Boldy opened the scoring in that gold-medal game, flipping the puck up to himself, splitting Cale Makar and Devon Toews and sliding a backhand through Jordan Binnington. Jack Hughes took care of the rest in overtime:
The medal capped a year that moved him into a different tier. Boldy set career highs with 42 goals and 85 points in 76 games, finishing second on the Wild in both behind Kirill Kaprizov, then added 13 points in 11 playoff games.
Hartman was asked how Boldy looked once he got back from the Olympic break.
“He came back stronger and confident. His year last year, it was huge for us. Big-time player, played great in the playoffs.”
Ryan Hartman on Matt Boldy
Minnesota beat Dallas in six for its first best-of-7 series win since 2015, then got knocked out by Colorado in five. Boldy said those 11 games are the part he plans to carry into October.
“You can’t replicate playoff hockey, so the more you’re in it, the more natural it becomes. It’s just about taking that next step.”
The first two rounds go Thursday and Friday, with the top 60 and ties sticking around for the weekend.
