This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
3M Open
TPC Twin Cities
Blaine, MN
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the fourth edition of the 3M Open.
Being a native Minnesotan, news of a PGA Tour event heading this way a few years back was incredibly exciting. The fact that it was to take place around July 4th was a bit of a buzzkill, but really, who cared? It's a PGA Tour event! Even though they've moved off the first week in July on the calendar, after a few years, the shine has worn off a bit and that's largely due to the names this event draws -- or rather, the lack thereof. It's not the fault of the 3M Open. It's entirely due to its spot on the schedule. July is just a dead zone on the PGA Tour. The Open Championship turns into a three-week commitment, and now with the Scottish Open in the mix, the best players on Tour will likely spend the entire month of July either playing in Europe or traveling to and from. That's the deal though -- you want a PGA Tour event, you start at the back of the line. Some years this event might fall on a better date and some it might look a bit like it does this week, like an event staged a couple days after the best golfers in the world just spent several weeks overseas. It's not ideal, but it's the real deal. It's not the Champions Tour, it's not LIV Golf,
3M Open
TPC Twin Cities
Blaine, MN
The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the fourth edition of the 3M Open.
Being a native Minnesotan, news of a PGA Tour event heading this way a few years back was incredibly exciting. The fact that it was to take place around July 4th was a bit of a buzzkill, but really, who cared? It's a PGA Tour event! Even though they've moved off the first week in July on the calendar, after a few years, the shine has worn off a bit and that's largely due to the names this event draws -- or rather, the lack thereof. It's not the fault of the 3M Open. It's entirely due to its spot on the schedule. July is just a dead zone on the PGA Tour. The Open Championship turns into a three-week commitment, and now with the Scottish Open in the mix, the best players on Tour will likely spend the entire month of July either playing in Europe or traveling to and from. That's the deal though -- you want a PGA Tour event, you start at the back of the line. Some years this event might fall on a better date and some it might look a bit like it does this week, like an event staged a couple days after the best golfers in the world just spent several weeks overseas. It's not ideal, but it's the real deal. It's not the Champions Tour, it's not LIV Golf, it's the PGA Tour and you take what you can get.
All odds via golfodds.com as of 6:00 PM ET Wednesday.
LAST YEAR
Cameron Champ shot a final-round 66 on his way to a two-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Jhonattan Vegas.
FAVORITES
Tony Finau (14-1)
This field isn't completely devoid of high-end talent. Finau, though he hasn't won that often, is still a pretty big name, and the 3M Open is likely thrilled be will be on the premises. Finau has been along for the ride since this event's inception. His track record at TPC Twin Cities is good but not great, but did record a top-3 among his three tries. We haven't seen much from Finau since his runner-up at the RBC Canadian Open about a month ago, and while he's a big fish in a small pond, his price is just a bit short.
Sungjae Im (16-1)
Im didn't fare well at all in Europe over the past two weeks and was also struggling before heading overseas. On the bright side, you might be able to dismiss the results from his three most recent starts because they all came on links courses, in a major or both. In his most recent crack at a standard PGA Tour stop, he finished T10 at the Memorial.
Hideki Matsuyama (18-1)
Matsuyama played well at the U.S. Open, but we didn't seen the same form in his two most recent starts. Those were both on links tracks, so like we did with Im we can seemingly ignore those results to makes things easier. Back on a track that could lead to a birdie-fest, Matsuyama should thrive. He has made just one appearance here, but it resulted in a T7 in 2019.
THE NEXT TIER
Sahith Theegala (20-1)
He doesn't have the course history, but this young man is on a roll. Theegala posted a T5 at the Memorial in June and nearly won at the Travelers Championship three weeks later. Since then he has notched a top-20 at the John Deere Classic and a T34 at St. Andrews. Theegala missed the cut here in 2020, but he's a much better and more experienced golfer than he was even two years ago. At this number, there's just enough value to place a win wager.
Adam Hadwin (25-1)
At this price Hadwin is near the top of the betting board, but he's not quite close enough to be one of the favorites. That's an important distinction, because the last time he was in that group -- at the John Deere Classic -- he missed the cut. The reason he's this far up the chart is his history here. He's one of a handful of golfers in the field who can claim a solid track record at this event, having finished no worse than T6 in his two attempts.
Cam Davis (25-1)
A couple gentlemen named Cam played pretty well in the Open Championship, and there's another who continued his hot streak at the event played opposite, the Barracuda Championship. That Cam, is of course, the one with the surname Davis, who picked up his third top-10 in his past five starts. Davis has plenty of experience here and has recorded two top-30s in three trips to TPC Twin Cities.
LONG SHOTS
Joohyung Kim (40-1)
The shine wore off a bit when Kim followed up his third-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open with a T47 at St. Andrews, but let's not forget this kid is only 20 years old and is playing against the best in the world. Forgive him if he can't find post a quality result every time out. It might be a bit premature to expect someone this young to pull off a win, but in this event's short history, several young players either wound up in the winner's circle or at least came close.
Callum Tarren (80-1)
I'm going a bit down the list here, but there are some things working in Tarren's favor at TPC Twin Cities. Let's start with his driving distance, a category in which he ranks 20th on the PGA Tour. Two of the three winners here were long off the tee. Second, Tarren ranks seventh on Tour in eagles per hole. Whoever takes home the trophy Sunday is going to go low, and in order to do that, he will need to capitalize on the par-5s. Tarren has the skills to do that.
ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES
Highly-owned Pick: Tony Finau - It's one of those weeks where OAD players are going to look for some comfort in a bigger name. There aren't many to choose from, and while I'm sure many participants have used Finau, more have likely already gone with Matsuyama, which makes Finau the top choice by default.
Moderately-owned Pick: Sahith Theegala - I zigged with Theegala at the John Deere Classic while most OAD players zagged with Webb Simpson, and I'm expecting many of those who chose Simpson to go with Theegala in this spot. It's a fine strategy, as Theegala has shown he has the type of game to thrive at TPC Twin Cities.
Lightly-owned Pick: Joohyung Kim - Only three players in the field are ranked higher in the Official World Golf Ranking, yet I feel like most OAD players will avoid him due to the unfamiliarity. Had he fared better in the Open Championship he might be the most popular pick this time around, and thus he's a fine option in this format.
Buyer Beware: Everyone - It may seem like a joke, but I'm serious: No one is safe this week. From the favorites who are just getting back from Scotland, to the guys looking to capitalize on the weak field, almost everyone on hand is no better than a toss-up to make the cut. You'd think a light group of players would lead to some easy picks for top-10s or top-20s, but the bottom line is we have no idea what's going on inside anyone's head. Some will fail to get up for this event and some will press because they see this as a great opportunity to win. We don't know which ones will click, so the best we can do is to let each player's history guide the way.
Last Week: Matt Fitzpatrick - T21 - $0
Season Total: $10,480,765
This week: Joohyung Kim - You may be wondering why I did not list any winnings for Fitzpatrick, and that's because I mistakenly selected him after having already done so earlier in the season. So, I'm owning up to it and taking the goose egg. As for this week's tournament, I'll start by mentioning that I've already used Finau, Matsuyama, Im and Theegala. That doesn't leave a lot to choose from, but that doesn't mean that I don't like this pick. I'm unsure how Kim will respond after accepting Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, and it's tough to acclimate to a new place, but he looks comfortable on the course and should love the easy setup this week. I can only hope he's not the popular pick among those who have gone with the top names already.
FANDUEL PICKS
Upper Range: Sahith Theegala ($11,200)
Middle Range: Joohyung Kim ($10,400)
Lower Range: Callum Tarren ($8,700)
SURVIVOR LEAGUES
Last Week: Matt Fitzpatrick - T21
Streak: 0
This week: Cam Davis - You are probably again wondering about the zero above, but I had also already used Fitzpatrick in this format, so I'm giving myself the same penalty. At least he fared fairly well for those who followed the advice! Moving on, I like Kim's upside in OAD leagues, but he's too risky for this contest. Instead, I wanted to find someone who is playing well and has some history here. Davis did miss the cut here in his first start, but he played well in his last two appearances at TPC Twin Cities. I considered going with Davis for my OAD pick, but I decided to go with the player I believe will be active on fewer rosters.
