Following The 152nd Open Championship – the golf’s final major, the PGA Tour returns to action with the sixth edition of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota.
The field teeing it up this week at the Arnold Palmer-designed venue will be headlined by a pair of top-20 ranked names in Sahith Theegala (No. 11) and Tony Finau (19).
Other familiar names in the field include newly-minted U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Sam Burns, Justin Rose, and Billy Horschel, among others.
Here are more details on what to watch for this week at the 3M Open.
The 3M Open Preview
The Skinny
Tournament: 3M Open
Title Sponsor: 3M
Tour Debut: 2019
Dates: July 25-28, 2024
Where: Blaine, Minn.
Course: TPC Twin Cities
Distance: Par 71, 7431 yards
Architect: Arnold Palmer
TV Network: GOLF/CBS
Purse: $8,100,000
Winning Share: $1,458,000
Defending Champ: Lee Hodges
How to Follow the 3M Open
TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 2:30-6:30 p.m. (GOLF); Sat-Sun: 1-3 p.m. (GOLF), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thu-Fri: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+); Sat-Sun: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (ESPN+)
RADIO: Thu-Fri: 12-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun: 1-6 p.m.
LINKS: Website | Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter
History Spotlight
There’s not a great deal of history to report. Despite just five editions, however, the 3M Open is not completely devoid of past intrigue.
Debuting in 2019 with Minnesota-based 3M as the title sponsor, the tournament was the former 3M Championship, an event that ran on the PGA Champions Tour from 1993-2018 and running continuously at TPC Twin Cities since 2001. That inaugural event was won by the popular Chi Chi Rodriguez.
The event victory record for the long-running stop was three apiece, held by Hale Irwin and Kenny Perry, the latter of whom won the final tournament. The only other player to win multiple times was Bernhard Langer, who took the title in 2009 and 2012.
TPC Twin Cities was established in 2000 and is a design of the late, legendary Arnold Palmer, with an assist from Minnesota native Tom Lehman.
Prior to its debut in 2019, Minnesota had not had a regular PGA Tour stop since 1969. The state has been the site of some very important golf tournaments, though, most notably the 2002 and 2009 PGA Championships, and the 2016 Ryder Cup – all contested at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska.
Matthew Wolff won the inaugural event in one of the most exciting finishes of the 2019 season, while Michael Thompson (2020), Cameron Champ (2021) and Lee Hodges (2023) are other 3M Open champions. Tony Finau (2022) is the highest profile former winner.
Host Course: TPC Twin Cities
TPC Twin Cities, a par 71, measuring 7,431 yards, was designed by Arnold Palmer with Minnesota native Tom Lehman advising as the player consultant. A former sod farm, the layout crisscrosses naturally rolling terrain with lots of water. One of the signature holes is the 7th, dubbed “Tom’s Thumb” after Lehman himself – it’s a risk/reward par four.
Name: TPC Twin Cities
Owner: PGA TOUR
Website: TPC.com
Architect (Year): Arnold Palmer (2000)
Redesign (Year): Steve Wenzloff (2018)
Distance: Par 35-36-71, 7468 yards
Stimpmeter: 12
Avg Green Size: 6500 sf
Avg Tee Size: 1000 sf
Acres of Fairway: 28
Acres of Rough: 59
Number of Sand Bunkers: 72
Number of Water Hazards: 27
Greens: Bentgrass .100”
Tees: Bentgrass .285”
Fairways: Bentgrass .325”
Rough: Bluegrass/Fescue 3”
Featured Hole
No.7, TPC Twin Cities
Par 4, 381 yards
Dubbed “Tom’s Thumb” in reference to PGA TOUR player and course consultant Tom Lehman, the green on this 381-yard par-4 may be reached with a long and accurate tee shot that carries the lake on the left side and avoids Palmer’s signature beach bunkers to the right of the green.
A conservative tee shot into the fairway will often render an approach of less than 100 yards to the two-tiered green.
More Featured Holes:
No. 6, 594-yard, par 5 risk/reward double-dog leg… No. 9, 502-yard par 4 with difficult long-iron approach… No. 14, 437-yard par 4 dogleg around Cavner’s Cove.
Field: Power Rankings
It was slim pickings for this week’s power rankings with only two players ranked inside the OWGR’s top 20: No. 11 Sahith Theegala and No. 19 Tony Finau.
Rounding out our top-5 power rankings are Sung-Jae Im, Maverick McNealy and Davis Riley.
- Tony Finau
World Rank: 17th | Odds: 11-1 - Ashkay Bhatia
World Rank: 28th | Odds: 18-1 - Sam Burns
World Rank: 28th | Odds: 18-1 - Billy Horschel
World Rank: 33rd | Odds: 28-1 - Keegan Bradley
World Rank: 21st | Odds: 30-1
Full Field & Odds
Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Tony Finau 11-1
2. Ashkay Bhatia 18-1
2. Sam Burns 18-1
4. Billy Horschel 22-1
4. Sahith Theegala 22-1
Place your bets on the 3M Open at DraftKings.
Credit: Getty Images, PGA TOUR Media, TPC Network
