BLAINE, Minn. – When Aaron Baddeley stepped on property at TPC Twin Cities he was viewing the week as a four-day qualifier.

Don’t get him wrong. He would love to win. That would solve a lot of his problems, indeed. But at 109th in the FedExCup with his last win more than seven years in the rearview, wins can’t be relied upon.

What a good week at the 3M Open could do is keep his Playoffs hopes alive. Baddeley has made it through to the FedExCup Playoffs only once since 2017. And he isn’t in the field for the Wyndham Championship, his past champion status not good enough to book his trip to Sedgefield Country Club.

He’s one more round from changing that. A top-10 finish would earn him a coveted spot in the Regular Season finale, and through three rounds, he’s well positioned. A round of 65 on Saturday vaulted Baddeley into fourth place at 13 under, seven shots back of leader Lee Hodges.

“Finishing around the 200 number (in the FedExCup) has been pretty frustrating because I felt like that's not where I should be at,” the 42-year-old said. “... to have a chance to push into the top 70 is pretty special.”

On Saturday, Baddeley rode a hot putter to seven birdies in his last 13 holes. He made 143 feet of putts and gained nearly 4.5 strokes on the green. His solo-fourth position currently projects him to move up to 84th.

The four-time TOUR winner has fallen from prominence since his last TOUR win, which came in 2016 at the Barbasol Championship. He made the inaugural FedExCup Playoffs in 2007 and finished sixth. He made the Playoffs in eight of the next nine seasons, too. But it’s been a difficult five years. He’s accumulated only two top 10s since 2020 and they both came earlier this year. He has missed more cuts than he has made in the last four years, too.

A top-70 finish would set a new course for the latter half of the Aussie’s career.

NOTABLES

Lee Hodges was already close to making the first Playoffs event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. A win at TPC Twin Cities would all but lock up his spot for the following week’s BMW Championship. Hodges, currently 74th, is projected to move to 33rd with a win. He will have a five-shot cushion as he pursues his first TOUR win… On the bubble to begin the week at 66th, Keith Mitchell is primed to lock up his position in the Playoffs following a third-round 67 that pushed him into the top 5. Mitchell has not missed the Playoffs since joining the TOUR in 2018… Billy Horschel’s pursuit of an 11th consecutive FedExCup Playoffs berth is alive, but he will need more than his current T5 to get there. He ranks 119th.

Sam Ryder’s back-nine 29 did a lot to aid his cause. He entered the week 69th and is T5 at 12-under… Kevin Yu joined Ryder with a 29 on his front nine, although it won’t have the same effect on the Standings as he bogeyed four of his last six holes to drop to 10 under… Garrick Higgo, currently 78th, will need more than a T27, his position through three rounds, to crack the top 70… The same goes for Cam Davis, who entered the 3M Open in 77th and is tied with Higgo at 8 under… A 1-under round that featured a double bogey and two bogeys is not what Justin Suh was looking for. He entered the week 76th and his T39 placing projects him to drop a spot.

FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP BUBBLE WATCH

Here are the players projected to move inside the top 70 of the FedExCup after the third round of the 3M Open. The top 70 will advance to the FedEx St. Jude Championship, set for Aug. 10-13 at TPC Southwind outside Memphis, Tennessee:

PROJECTED IN

Lee Hodges (No. 74, projected to No. 33): Picking up where he left off on Friday, Hodges came out Saturday and carded a 5-under 66 to extend his lead to five strokes heading into Sunday. Two front-nine bogeys were neutralized by two birdies and then he turned it on on the back nine with five more birdies. Hodges has all but secured his place in the FedExCup Playoffs and the Alabama product is now on the precipice of the TOUR Championship as well.

PROJECTED OUT

K.H. Lee (No. 70, projected to No. 71):Lee did not make the weekend in Minnesota but a valiant effort on Friday almost helped him make the cut at the 3M Open. He’ll have to use his 4-under 67 in Round 2 as a springboard at the Wyndham Championship next week as he tries to battle his way back inside the Playoffs cut line and extend his Playoffs streak to five straight seasons.

BIG MOVERS

J.T. Poston (No. 60, projected to No. 40): Poston’s third-straight, 5-under 66 at the 3M Open puts him inside the top 50 of the FedExCup Standings for a spot at the BMW Championship. He is now even closer to securing a spot in the top 30 for the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. This would be Poston’s sixth straight season qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs.

Aaron Baddeley (No. 109, projected to No. 84) Although he still has work to do tomorrow and at the Wyndham Championship to give the playoffs a run, a third-round 64 not only vaulted Baddeley up to fourth place going into the final round at the 3M Open but he has also inched closer to the top 70 and a spot in Memphis at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

BUBBLE BOY

Ben Taylor (No. 67, projected at No. 70) After two rounds under par to start the weekend, a struggling Taylor carded a 5-over 76 on Saturday at the 3M Open, moving down 12 spots on the leaderboard and right on the cut for the top-70 threshold to make the Playoffs after next week’s Wyndham Championship. Taylor will have to remain in form this week and next to make sure his spot in the FedEx St. Jude Championship is assured.