It looks like we’re officially on a heater! Akshay Bhatia (40-1) captured the Barbasol Championship giving us our second outright in the past two weeks.
Let’s get into this week’s storylines…
Tony Finau looks to defend his title at the 3M Open. He’s already won twice on Tour this season. If he’s able to capture a third victory this season it would be the first time that he’s accomplished that feat in his career.
Justin Thomas finds himself on the outside of the FedEx Cup Playoffs with just two events to go. He’s played in the Tour Championship seven times before, winning in 2017. This is the first year that just 70 players qualify for the PGA TOUR’s postseason. Thomas is 75th in the FedExCup after a difficult season.
- Dates: July 27th, 2023 – July 30th, 2023
- Location: Blaine, Minnesota, United States
- Course: TPC Twin Cities
- Course Type: Parkland
- Par: 71 (4x 3’s / 11x 4’s / 3x 5’s)
- Length: 7,431 yards
- Format: 72-hole stroke play
- Greens: Bentgrass .100”
- Fairways: Bentgrass .300”
- Rough: Bluegrass / fescue 4”
- Bunkers: 72
- Water Hazard(s): – (In-Play on 15 Holes)
- Average Green Size: 6,500 sq. ft.
- Stimpmeter: 12 ft.
- Purse/ Winner: $7,800,000 /$1,404,000
- FedEx Cup Points: 500
- Field/ Cut: 156 Pros | Top 70 and Ties – 36 Holes
- Historic Cut Line:
- 2022: +1
- 2021: -2
- 2020: -2
- Course Scoring Average:
- 2022: 71.44 (+0.44), Rank 14 of 41
- 2021: 70.44 (-0.56), Rank 24 of 51
- 2020: 69.95 (-1.05), Rank 23 of 41
Course Architect:
- Course Architect: Arnold Palmer (2000)
- Renovations: Steve Wenzloff (2018)
Comparable Courses & Greens:
- Comparable Courses:
- Comparable Location (Blaine, Minnesota):
- TPC Deere Run – Silvis, Illinois – John Deere Classic
- Olympia Fields Country Club – Olympia Fields, Illinois – BMW Championship
- Comparable Yardage (7,431 Yards):
- TPC San Antonio – 7,438 Yards – Valero Texas Open
- TPC Louisiana – 7,425 Yards – Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- Albany – 7,414 Yards – Hero World Challenge
- Detroit Golf Club – 7,412 Yards – Rocket Mortgage Classic
- Memorial Park Golf Course – 7,412 Yards – Cadence Bank Houston Open
- Comparable Greens ( Bentgrass .100”):
- Torrey Pines (North Course) – Bentgrass .100” – Farmers Insurance Open
- TPC Craig Ranch – Bentgrass .100” – AT&T Byron Nelson
- Muirfield Village Golf Club – Bentgrass .090” – the Memorial Tournament
- Comparable Average Green Size (6,500 sq. ft.):
- Grand Reserve Golf Club – 6,500 sq. ft. – Puerto Rico Open
- Augusta National Golf Club – 6,486 sq. ft. – Masters Tournament
TV Information:
- Round 1: Thursday, July 27th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
- Round 2: Friday, July 28th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
- Round 3: Saturday, July 29th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS – 3:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
- Round 4: Sunday, July 30th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS – 3:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
- Thursday: Partly Cloudy 95 F, 11 mp/h S, 57% Humidity, 24% Chance of Rain
- Friday: AM Showers 88 F, 13 mp/h NE, 65% Humidity, 38% Chance of Rain
- Saturday: Partly Cloudy 82 F, 9 mp/h N, 57% Humidity, 12% Chance of Rain
- Sunday: Mostly Sunny 84 F, 6 mp/h WSW, 47% Humidity, 4% Chance of Rain
Course/ Tournament History:
The 3M Open debuted on the PGA Tour in 2019. Before that, TPC Twin Cities hosted the 3M Championship which was a Champions tour event from 1993-2018. The 3M Open is the PGA TOUR’s first regular stop in Minnesota in five decades. As one of the newer tournaments on the tour, they’ve taken a great approach to trying to grow the event and game. On hole 17, they added sky boxes to try to mimic the famed rowdy par-3 16th hole at the Waste Management Open.
The course was originally a sod farm that was transformed into a championship golf course by Arnold Palmer Design Co with consultation from Minnesota native, Tom Lehman. Before the inaugural tournament in 2019, the course underwent a renovation. During that renovation, they lengthened the course, narrowed fairway lines, repositioned tees and bunkers, and added more space for grandstands and spectators.
- 72-Hole Record:
- 263, Matthew Wolff (2019)
- 18-Hole Record:
- 62, Scott Piercy (1st Rd, 2019), Bryson Dechambeau (2nd Rd, 2019), Matt Wolff (3rd Rd, 2019), Lucas Glover (4th Rd, 2019)
Course Scorecard:
Featured/ Signature Hole(s): 6, 7, 9, 14
For a hole-by-hole overview of the course, you can click the following link.
Key Statistics:
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass)
- Birdies or Better
- Bogey Avoidance
- Par 3 Scoring: 200 – 225 (x2)
- Par 4 Scoring: 400 – 450 (x4)
- Par 5 Scoring: 550 – 600 (x3)
- Comparable Courses and Event History
The Field/ Odds:
There will be 156 players competing in this year’s 3M Open. Five of the world’s top-thirty players are in the field. Here are the current favorites in this week’s event:
Cameron Young (+1400)
Sungjae Im (+1600)
Tony Finau (+1600)
Hideki Matsuyama (+1600)
Emilliano Grillo (+2500)
- Previous Winners in the Field:
- Tony Finau (’22), Cameron Champ (’21)
- Notable Withdraws:
- David Lingmerth, Luke List, Akshay Bhatia
To see the most up-to-date odds, you can click the following link.
To see the full field for this event and how they qualified, you can click the following link.
Horses for Courses:
| Field Rating: 113 | Field Rating: 222 | Field Rating: 197 | Field Rating: 255 | |
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Sungjae Im | T2 | T15 | ||
| Tony Finau | 1 | T28 | T3 | T23 |
| Emiliano Grillo | T2 | MC | T3 | |
| Adam Hadwin | T38 | T6 | 4 | |
| JT Poston | T11 | T28 | ||
| Cameron Champ | T16 | 1 | MC |
Donkeys for Courses:
“Horses for Courses” is a phrase that is widely used and describes the best course/tournament fits. These are the players that have had success at the particular course/event. “Donkeys for Courses” is something I came up with that highlights the players who have struggled at a specific course/tournament.
| Field Rating: 113 | Field Rating: 222 | Field Rating: 197 | Field Rating: 255 | |
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Scott Harrington | MC | MC | ||
| Ben Taylor | MC | MC | ||
| Kevin Tway | MC | MC | ||
| Sean O’Hair | MC | MC | ||
| Russell Knox | MC | MC | ||
| Matthew NeSmith | T72 | MC | MC | |
| Andrew Landry | MC | MC | MC | |
| Nate Lashley | MC | MC | MC | |
| William Gordon | MC | MC | ||
| Harry Higgs | MC | MC | MC | |
| Ben Martin | MC | MC | MC | |
| Charley Hoffman | MC | MC | ||
| Sahith Theegala | MC | MC | ||
| Sunghoon Kang | MC | T70 | MC | |
| Doc Redman | MC | MC | MC | |
| Cody Gribble | MC | MC | ||
| Martin Trainer | MC | T58 | MC | MC |
| Austin Cook | MC | MC | T56 | MC |
| Brian Gay | MC | MC | MC | T56 |
Previous Winners Scores & Prices:
- 2022: Tony Finau (-17)
- Price: 14-1
- 2021: Cameron Champ (-15)
- Price: 150-1
- 2020: Michael Thompson (-19)
- Price: 125-1
- 2019: Matthew Wolff (-21)
- Price: 175-1
Picks (Outrights):
- Sepp Straka (+2200) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.37 to win 8.14 Units
- Emiliano Grillo (+2800) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.29 to win 8.12 Units
- Ludvig Aberg (+2800) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.29 to win 8.12 Units
- Doug Ghim (+8000) – BetMGM
- Risk 0.10 to win 8.00 Units
Total Risk on Outrights: 1.05 Units
Picks (Top 20):
- Adam Hadwin (+170) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.70 Units
- J.T. Poston (+180) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.80 Units
Total Risk on Top 20: 2.00 Units
Picks (Top 40):
- Greyson Sigg (+120) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.20 Units
- Chez Reavie (+138) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.38 Units
Total Risk on Top 40: 2.00 Units
Total Risk on the 3M Open: 5.05 Units
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting. Any feedback whether positive or negative, is always encouraged.
