3M Open Preview 2021

3M Open Preview 2021

• July 19-25, 2021
• 44th of 50 FedExCup event
• TPC Twin Cities• Blaine, Minnesota
• Par 71
• 7,431 yards
• Purse $6.6 million
• Winner $1,188,000 + 500 FedExCup pts.
• 156 players
• 72-hole stroke-play
• Defending champion Michael Thompson
• TV
  • Thursday GC
  • Friday GC
  • Saturday GC, CBS
  • Sunday GC, CBS

Year 3 for 3M:

• This week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities marks the third year for the tournament that started  in 2019.
• Defending champion Michael Thompson and 2019 winner Matthew Wolff return in an attempt to become the first two-time winner of the event.
• TPC Twin Cities is the ninth of 10 TPC facilities hosting PGA TOUR events during the 2020-21 season.
• The Arnold Palmer design was updated by Minnesota native and 1996 Open  Champion Tom Lehman prior to the debut of the 3M Open in 2019.
• PGA TOUR golf in Minnesota dates back to 1930, played as the St. Paul Open from 1930-1956 (not played on five occasions), the St. Paul Open Invitational from 1957-65 (not played in 1959) and as the Minnesota Golf Classic from 1966-69.

Johnson returns to Minnesota:

• World No. 2 and reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson headlines the 3M Open field.
• Johnson is making his second start at the event, withdrawing after a first-round 78 in 2020.
• Following the WO, Johnson recorded seven top-1Os in his next eight starts, including wins at THE NORTHERN TRUST, the TOUR Championship and the Masters Tournament.

Thompson at TPC Twin Cities:

• Michael Thompson found the winner’s circle on the PGA TOUR for the first time in seven years after he won the 2020 3M Open by two shots over Adam  Long.
• The defending champion stands at No. 131 in the latest FedExCup standings and needs a strong final three weeks to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs.

Land of 10,000 Lakes:

• The par-317th hole at TPC Twin Cities had the most balls in the water of any hole from the 2019- 20 season (118).
• During the 2020 3M Open, there were 316 total balls in the water marking the third-most of any course last season.

Top Players In The Field

Dustin Johnson

• 37
• Will make second tournament start (WD/2020)
• Enters the week No.15 in the FedExCup standings and No. 2 in the OWGR
• Two-time major champion (2016 U.S. Open, 2020 Masters Tournament)
• Best Results This Year
  • Won (2020) Masters
  • T2 Houston Open
  • T6 (2020) US Open
  • T8 The Open Championship

Patrick Reed

• 30
• Finished top-25 in lone start at the event (T23/2019)
• Earned ninth PGA TOUR victory earlier this season at the Farmers Insurance Open
• Ranks second on PGA TOUR in One-Putt Percentage (44.28%)
• Best Results This Year
  • Won Farmers Insurance Open
  • 5th The Memorial
  • t6 Wells Fargo Championship
  • T8 (2021) Masters

Louis Oosthuizen

• 38
• Leads the field at No. 9 in the FedExCup standings
• Leads the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting (1.062)
• 2010 Open Championship marks lone PGA TOUR title
• Best Results This Year
  • 2nd 2021 US Open
  • T2 Zurich Classic
  • T2 PGA Championship
  • 3rd 2020 US Open
  • T3 The Open

Tony Finau

• 31
• Seeks second top-25 finish at the event (T3/2020, T23/2019)
• Holds seven top-10s and 13 top-25s this season
• Lone PGA TOUR win: 2016 Puerto Rico Open
• Best Results This Year
  • T2 Farmers Insurance Open
  • T2 Genesis Invitational
  • T4 The American Express
  • T8 PGA Championship

Stewart Cink

• 48
• Finished T46 in only start atthe event (2019)
• Seven top-25s in 21 starts on TOUR this season
• One of six players with multiple wins this season
• Best Results This Year
  • Won Fortinet Championship
  • Won RBC Heritage
  • T4 Bermuda Championship
  • T12 (2021) Masters

Storylines

The Open Championship: The Open marked the final major tournament to be contested in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season and the last opportunity for a winner to earn 600 FedExCup points before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs. Collin Morikawa won The Open Championship by two strokes over Jordan Spieth, earning his second major championship title and fifth PGA TOUR victory.

Barbasol Championship: Seamus Power defeated J.T. Poston with a par-4 on the sixth playoff hole (No. 18) to earn his first career PGA TOUR win in his 106th TOUR start at 34 years, 4 months, 14 days at the Barbasol Cship. Power entered the final round trailing Poston by three strokes and closed with a 5-under 67 to earn a spot in the playoff.Power became the eighth first-time winner this season.

FedExCup race is heating up: With just three weeks (4 events) left before the FedExCup Playoffs: Rickie Fowler (No. 124) needs a strong play down the stretch to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. In 11 seasons, Fowler has never missed the FedExCup Playoffs nor finished outside the top 100 in the FedExCup standings. Two of the nine players that have never missed the FedExCup Playoffs since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007 (Charles Howell III/130 and Ryan Moore/137) are currently on the outside looking in.

Down the stretch: In the 2020-21 season there have been 10 playoffs, and the last three playoffs have combined for 19 holes. Last season there were 16 playoff holes in 10 playoffs. The 54-hole leaders/co-leaders have won just one of the last 12 tournaments, with Phil Mickelson at the PGA Championship the only 54-hole leader/co-leader to go on to win during that stretch.

Youth in the FedExCup standings: Eight of the top 10 players in the FedExCup standings are in their 20s, led by No. 1 Collin Morikawa, who holds the lead for the first time in his career.

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS

Category	Value	Player	Year
Low 18-hole score	62	4 players B. Dechambeau (R2), L. Glover (R4), M. Wolff (R3), S. Piercy (R1)	2019
Low 36-hole score	128	Bryson Dechambeau	2019
Low 54-hole score	198	4 players	Most recent: Richy Werenski, 2020
Low 72-hole score	263	Matthew Wolff	2019
Holes-in-one (since 1981)	3	3 players	Most recent: Bo Van Pelt R1, 2020
Largest 18-hole lead	2	Scott Piercy	2019
Largest 36-hole lead Largest 54-hole lead Biggest come-from-behind win	2	Bryson Dechambeau	2019
Largest margin of victory	2	Michael Thompson	2020

The 3M Open Preview 2021 is via PGA TOUR