With only two events remaining before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, some marquee names have traveled to Minnesota for this week’s 3M Open in a late push to climb the standings.
The event begins Thursday at TPC Twin Cities, and our golf experts provide key tournament notes along with their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.
3M OPEN
Location: Blaine, Minn., July 27-30
Course: TPC Twin Cities (Par 71, 7,431 yards)
Purse: $7.8M (Winner: $1.404M)
Defending Champion: Tony Finau
FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Twitter: @3MOpen
PROP PICKS
–Sahith Theegala to Beat Justin Thomas (-105 at DraftKings): Both players made the cross-Atlantic flight after missing the cut at The Open. Theegala also failed to make the weekend at the Scottish Open, but it’s understandable for a young player to struggle on links courses. Before that, Theegala had made 20 consecutive cuts. Thomas is in a legitimate slump, having missed four of his past six cuts, including against a modest field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic the last time he added an event in an attempt to improve his FedEx Cup position.
–Eric Cole to Finish Top 20 (+200 at BetMGM): Cole didn’t qualify for The Open, but he does have five top-20s this year. The most recent of those was a T6 at the RBC Canadian Open. He has enjoyed a solid rookie season, having been in contention over the weekend multiple times. Cole finished T15 at the PGA Championship and a respectable T39 at the U.S. Open, so he should fare well against a softer field.
–Justin Suh to Beat Mark Hubbard Round 1 (-105 at DraftKings): Suh has quietly put together an excellent season, including seven consecutive made cuts. His name has popped up on the front page of the leaderboard several times, although he has struggled to put together four consecutive strong rounds. Hubbard has also flashed, including a T6 and T10 in his past two starts following a pair of missed cuts. We like Suh’s consistency, including a T27 at the U.S. Open after opening with consecutive 69s.
2023 Prop Picks Record: 33-44-2
BEST BETS
–Cameron Young (+1400 at BetMGM) is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 15 and is coming off a T8 at The Open, his second consecutive top-10. He is the highest-ranked player in the world yet to win on the PGA Tour. He’s also the book’s third biggest liability this week, having drawn 7.4 percent of the outright winner bets and 9.3 percent of the money despite being the pre-tournament favorite.
–Tony Finau (+1600) has the second-highest ranking in the field, but he has missed three of his past five cuts and doesn’t have a top-20 in seven starts since winning in Mexico. Finau’s odds lengthened from being the co-favorite at +1400 on Tuesday.
–Sungjae Im (+1600) quietly posted a T20 at Royal Liverpool and finished T2 here behind Finau last year. His odds have shortened since opening at +1800.
–Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) is among the pre-tournament favorites at DraftKings, where he is being offered at +1600. Matsuyama has sandwiched a pair of T13s around a missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his past three starts. However, the Japanese star hasn’t won since the Sony Open in January 2022.
–Sepp Straka (+2500) is a career-high No. 25 in the world after winning the John Deere Classic and tying for second at The Open in his past two starts. He opened at +2800 but is the book’s biggest liability this week as Straka leads the field with 8.3 percent the bets and 13.2 percent of the money backing him.
–Emiliano Grillo (+2500) also tied for second at last year’s 3M. He also won the Charles Schwab Challenge earlier this year and held a share of the first-round lead last week before tying for sixth. Grillo is third with 8.3 percent of the money backing him to win.
–Justin Thomas (+2500) can’t be discounted despite his ongoing struggles. He did finish T9 at the Travelers and showed some strides with an even-par 71 in the second round of The Open.
–Ludvig Aberg (+2500) makes his sixth start since turning pro after finishing first in the 2023 PGA Tour University. The former Texas Tech star’s best result to date is a T4 at the John Deere Classic, and Aberg is the second biggest liability this week, having drawn 5.3 percent of the total bets.
NOTES
–The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualify for the first leg of the playoffs. Thomas is in this week’s field as he currently sits 75th in the standings and is trying to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in his ninth year on tour. No. 90 Gary Woodland and No. 118 Billy Horschel are among the other notable names in the field.
–Finau is making his second start as a defending champion this week. He missed the cut in his defense at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last month. Finau is trying to become the fourth player to successfully defend a title this season, and would join Max Homa, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.
–Patrick Rodgers (+4500 at BetMGM) is coming off a playoff loss to Akshay Bhatia at the Barracuda Championship. Rodgers has made 219 starts since joining the PGA Tour for the 2015-16 season, the most of any player during that span without a win.
–Paul Haley II (+75000) is playing on tour for the eighth consecutive week, the longest active streak in the field. He’s 132nd in the standings.
–Field Level Media