The 26th and final 3M Championship tees off this week at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota for the 18th Champions Tour event of the season.
With no majors remaining on the schedule, all the the attention will focus on jockeying for the playoffs during these final eight tournament weeks.
THE SKINNY
Tournament: 3M Championship
Title Sponsor: 3M Corporation
Dates: August 3-5, 2018
Course: TPC Twin Cities
Where: Blaine, Minnesota
Distance: 7,002 yards, par 72
Architect: Arnold Palmer/Tom Lehman (2000)
Format: 72 hole competition, no cut
Purse: $1,750,000
Winning Share: $262,500
Defending: Paul Goydos
Recent Winners: Joe Durant (2016), Kenny Perry (2015, 2014), Tom Pernice, Jr. (2013), Bernhard Langer (2012)
Website: 3MChampionship.com
TV Coverage: Fri 8-10p, Sat/Sun 4-6p (GOLF)
3M CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The long-running Gopher State tournament was founded in 1993 as the Burnet Senior Classic, and, for its first eight editions, was contested at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, MN.
With the explosion of golf in the late 90s, the PGA Tour commissioned the design and development of TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, just a 10 minute drive from Coons Rapids.
The Arnold Palmer and Tom Lehman designed course was completed in 2000, and the tournament moved to the new TPC venue in 2001, bringing along Minnesota-based 3M as its title sponsor.
Starting next season, the tournament will be part of the PGA Tour schedule as the world’s top golfers will compete at TPC Twin Cities.
The new tournament will take place from July 4-7 and will mark the first official PGA Tour event in Minnesota since the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska.
DEFENDING CHAMPION
Paul Goydos and Gene Sauers shot matching 66s in the final round of the 3M Championship to finish tied for the lead at 20-under.
Goydos, though, was a shot better in the first playoff hole, and captured his fifth career Champions Tour title at TPC Twin Cities.
“Yeah, they’re all special but the last one always seems to be the most special, I don’t know why the math works out that way,” joked Goydos.
Playing the 18th as the first playoff hole, Sauers came up short on his approach, and landed in the lake that guards the green on 18.
“I was 191 to the front, 197, 8 to the hole. Hit 5-iron. Hit 5-iron previous in regulation and so it was plenty of club, I just kind of came out of it a little bit,” explained Sauers. “It’s all right, I played good and look forward to next week.”
Goydos nearly did the same, but cleared the water’s edge by about two feet, and two-putted for the win.
Kevin Sutherland shot 64 to finish tied for third at 18-under along with Steve Stricker (66) and Brandt Jobe (67).
FINAL TOP 5
1 Paul Goydos -20
2 Gene Sauers -20
3 Kevin Sutherland -18
3 Steve Stricker -18
3 Brandt Jobe -18
THE FIELD
Defending champion Paul Goydos and two-time champion Kenny Perry highlight the 78-player field for the final year of the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship. The field will feature 10 past champions with Joe Durant leading the way in terms of the Charles Schwab Cup money list, as well as Jay Haas, David Frost, Tom Kite, and Wayne Levi.
The field also includes four players who finished in the top 10 last week at The Senior Open Championship, including Kirk Triplett, Tom Lehman, Tom Pernice Jr., and Marco Dawson.
Robert Gamez will make his official U.S. Champions Tour debut, after making his first start last week at The Senior Open Championship.
Former major winners in the field include: Lehman, Kite, John Daly, Mark O’Meara, Corey Pavin, Todd Hamilton, Jeff Sluman, Larry Mize, and Lee Janzen.
FIELD ODDS
3M Championship | TPC Twin Cities (Blaine, MN) | Aug 3-5, 2018
Credit: PGA Tour Champions Media Notes and Guide, Getty Images
