Horses for Courses: 3M Open
4 Min Read
The "3" in 3M has never been more prevalent as the 3M Open is the first of three final regular season events before the FedExCup Playoffs and the top 125 are set.
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Those on the outside looking in will have the pressure squarely on their shoulders at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. The first goal is remaining or entering the top 125 to secure playing privileges for next year. Those hovering around the No. 70 mark know that being inside of that number means at trip to the BMW Championship in playoff event No. 2. The Holy Grail is being in the top 30 after the BMW Championship as the folks who head to East Lake for The TOUR Championship are exempt for everything and are eligible for the biggest FedExCup bonuses.
Every week, every point matters to somebody.
The third edition, won last year by big hitting Cameron Champ, continued a trend as the winner's score has decreased each season since the inaugural edition.
Fairways that were reduced in size after the 2018 renovation were firm and fast last year and balls were rolling into four inches of Bluegrass/Fescue. Combine playing from gnarly lies and having water in play on 15 of the 18 holes and a new challenge was presented. Blaine has received just over an inch of rain this month so I would expect similar conditions for this edition.
The 6,500 square foot greens give ample recovery space but nobody likes standing over 80 footers all day either. Or navigating how ball are going to jump out of the rough and cross those multiple water penalty areas.
Finding the fairways leads to better scoring chances and so does attacking the Par-4 holes. No winner has been in the top 10 of Par-5 scoring.
Matthew Wolff (not entered) holds the tournament record on 23-under 261 and is the only first time winner. The inaugural event in 2019 saw four players post the course record, 62, including Scott Piercy and Lucas Glover. In 2020, 63 was the lowest round while 64 was the best in 2021.
A full field of 156 will be chasing a prize pool of $7.1 million with the winner taking home $1.278 million plus 500 FedExCup points.
Let's find some horses for courses!
Horses for Courses
| Recent Winners Entered this week (cuts made/events entered) | Top 10 | Top 25 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10, Top 20 |
| Cameron Champ (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +5000; +500 |
| Michael Thompson (3/3) | 1 | 1 | +6600; +650 |
| Noise Makers Entered this week (cuts made/events entered) | Top 10 | Top 25 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10, Top 20 |
| Adam Hadwin (2/2) | 2 | 2 | +2500; +225 |
| Ryan Armour (2/3) | 1 | 1 | +12500; +900 |
| Brian Stuard (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +25000; +1600 |
| Adam Long (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +3300; +300 |
| Cameron Tringale (3/3) | 1 | 2 | +2800; +275 |
| Tony Finau (3/3) | 1 | 2 | +1400; +140 |
| Richy Werenski (2/3) | 1 | 1 | +30000; +2500 |
| Emiliano Grillo (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +5000; +450 |
| Wyndham Clark (1/3) | 1 | 1 | +5000; +500 |
| Troy Merritt (2/3) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +550 |
| Lucas Glover (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +700 |
| Hideki Matsuyama (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +1600; +150 |
| Leaderboard Lurkers Entered this week | Top 10 | Top 25 | 2022 BET MGM ODDS Win, Top 10, Top 20 |
| Brice Garnett (3/3) | 3 | 3 | +10000; +750 |
| Bo Hoag (2/2) | 2 | 2 | +15000; +1400 |
| Roger Sloan (2/3) | 2 | 2 | +30000; +2000 |
| Cam Davis (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +2500; +240 |
| Nick Watney (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +35000; +2500 |
| Chez Reavie (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +3300; +333 |
| Adam Svensson (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +4000; +400 |
| Sungjae Im (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +1600; +150 |
| Jason Dufner (3/3) | 0 | 2 | +30000; +2200 |
| Maverick Mcnealy (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +2200; +200 |
| Doug Ghim (1/2) | 1 | 1 | +8000; +600 |
| Sam Ryder (2/3) | 1 | 2 | +15000; +1100 |
| Aaron Baddeley (2/2) | 1 | 1 | +30000; +2500 |
| Hank Lebioda (2/2) | 0 | 2 | +12500; +900 |
| Patton Kizzire (3/3) | 0 | 2 | +8000; +750 |
| Henrik Norlander (1/1) | 1 | 1 | +20000; +1400 |
Odds sourced on Tuesday, July 19th at 2 p.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm.
Notes
2021
Cameron Champ (WIN) is known for his power but he led the field in Putting en route to his victory. ... Ryan Armour (T6) shared the 36 hole lead. ... Adam Hadwin (T6) matched Armour's 65 in Round 2 and played with him in the final group on Saturday. ... Brian Stuard (T6) debut here included T2 GIR and T4 Fairways plus a second round 64, co-low round of the week. ... Chez Reavie (T11) sat just two shots off the 54 hole lead. ... Cameron Tringale (T16) and Maverick McNealy (T16) played in the final group on Sunday and posted 74 and 73 respectfully. ... Roger Sloan (T16), Rickie Fowler (T34) and Troy Merritt (T39) shared the first round lead after posting 64. ... The top 15 players were 10-under or better. ... 29 bogey free rounds. ... Scoring average 70.436.
2020
Michael Thompson (WIN) led, co-led or was in one shot after every round as he won by two and for the second time on TOUR. ... Adam Long (2nd) backed up his T25 2019 as he closed 63-64 to miss by two shots. ... Tony Finau (T3) posted T23 in 2021 and T28 in 2019 and carries a 68.00 average here. ... Emiliano Grillo (T3) closed 64-65 before MC in 2021. ... Cameron Tringale (T3) closed 63-66 to storm up the board on the weekend. ... Richy Werenski (T3) played in the final group Sunday after opening the week with 63 on Thursday. ... Cam Davis (T12) closed with 64 last year for T28. ...... Top 40 players were 10-under or better. ... 25 bogey free rounds. ... Scoring average 69.948.
2019
Adam Hadwin (4th) has played this event twice and his worst finish is T6 in 2021. ... Wyndham Clark (T5) squared only four bogeys on debut but has left early the last two seasons. ... Lucas Glover (T7) became the last player to post 62 here as he closed with that score in Round 4. ... Emiliano Grillo (T3) closed 64-65 before MC in 2021. ... Hideki Matsuyama (T7) racked up a top 10 in his only event here as it preceded The Open by two weeks. ... Troy Merritt (T7) grew up in the area and has never missed in three visits... Scott Piercy (T15) set the course record in Round 1 with 62. ... Top 52 players were 10-under or better. ... 44 bogey free rounds. ... Scoring average 69.455.
Recent Event Winners Stats
| Year | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 |
| Winnner | Cameron Champ | Michael Thompson | Matthew Wolff |
| Score | 269 | 265 | 263 |
| MOV | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Cut | 2-under | 2-under | 3-under |
| Age | 26 | 35 | 20 |
| Pre Tournament Odds | +12500 | +12500 | +12500 |
| Disantance - All Drives | 17 | 54 | 5 |
| Driving Accuarcy | T49 | T22 | T31 |
| GIR | T22 | T3 | T6 |
| Ball-Striking | T16 | T20 | 13 |
| Proximity | T11 | 33 | 12 |
| Putting: Birdie or Better % | 5 | 29 | 3 |
| SG: Off-the-Tee | 39 | 51 | 21 |
| SG: Approach-the-Green | 19 | 4 | 2 |
| SG: Around-the-Green | 50 | 53 | 18 |
| SG: Putting | 1 | 1 | 39 |
| SG: Tee-to-Green | 27 | 17 | 1 |
| Scrambling | 6 | 2 | T62 |
| Bogey Avoidance | T1 | T1 | T25 |
| Par-3 Scoring | T1 | T23 | T32 |
| Par-4 Scoring | T2 | T1 | T1 |
| Par-5 Scoring | T57 | T17 | T11 |
| Birdies | T2 (21) | T7 (22) | T1 (26) |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | T5 (1) |
| Bogeys/Doubles/Others | 4/1/0 | 3/0/0 | 7/0/0 |
Key stat leaders
Top golfers in each statistic on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week;
| Par 4 Scoring | |
| Rank | Player |
| 3 | Nate Lashley |
| 8 | Sungjae Im |
| 8 | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 15 | Ryan Armour |
| 15 | Adam Long |
| 15 | Matthias Scwab |
| 24 | Tony Finau |
| 24 | Mark Hubbard |
| 32 | Wyndham Clark |
| 32 | Tyler Duncan |
| Strokes Gained: Putting | |
| Rank | Player |
| 3 | Brendon Todd |
| 6 | Beau Hossler |
| 14 | Adam Long |
| 16 | Kelly Kraft |
| 20 | Troy Merritt |
| 23 | Martin Trainer |
| 25 | Chesson Hadley |
| 26 | Wyndham Clark |
| 27 | Matthias Schwab |
| 33 | Maverick McNealy |
| 36 | Mark Hubbard |
| Bogey Avoidance | |
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Mark Hubbard |
| 3 | Sungjae Im |
| 5 | Jonathan Byrd |
| 14 | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 17 | Adam Long |
| 20 | Brendon Todd |
| 21 | Tony Finau |
| 23 | Ryan Armour |
| 24 | Greyson Sigg |
| 25 | Adam Hadwin |