Sahith Theegala, the No. 11-ranked player in the world, highlights the 3M Open field finalized Friday by the PGA Tour ahead of next week’s tournament at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.
The 3M Open’s positioning directly in front of the Olympics golf tournament does generally seem to favor the Blaine event this season. Only four Americans can play in Paris, so many other top players can return from this week’s British Open in Scotland, play in Minnesota and then take the following week off.
That likely also helped the 3M Open draw the likes of 2026 Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (No. 19 in the world), Akshay Bhatia (No. 26) and Sam Burns (No. 28).
Bhatia is a rising star who committed Friday after missing the cut at The Open.
Rickie Fowler was somewhat mysteriously missing from the field list. Fowler — one of the Tour’s more popular names who has struggled this year after experiencing a resurgence a season ago — is currently ranked No. 99 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 70 advance to the playoffs, and the 3M Open is the second-to-last regular season event.
But Fowler made the cut on the number at the British Open, and that could’ve sealed his decision not to come to TPC Twin Cities, where he played in 2021 and 2022. Other possibilities for commitments that potentially didn’t pan out because of weekend play in Scotland include Max Homa, Jordan Spieth and Cameron Young, who don’t necessarily need to play next week for points — though Spieth is currently No. 60 in the FedEx Cup standings and there is incentive to be in the top 50 by the end of the year — but may have considered another week of play had they exited The Open early.
One result to watch over the weekend is Justin Rose. The 2013 U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup stalwart is one of the bigger names in this year’s 3M Open field, but the Englishman enters the weekend at Royal Troon just two back of leader Shane Lowry. If Rose contends deep into Sunday and perhaps even wins, he’d be a good bet to withdraw next week. Billy Horschel, who’s in a tie for fourth through two rounds in Scotland, may reconsider playing next week with a strong performance over the weekend.
Last year’s champion Lee Hodges is in the field, as is Tony Finau, the No. 18-ranked player in the world who won the 2022 3M Open, consistently plays well in Blaine and is the biggest name to return to Minnesota year after year.
The field features a number of young stars, including the current top-ranked amateur in the world in Luke Clanton, who’s in on a sponsor’s exemption after already recording a pair of top 10s on the PGA Tour this season. Neal Shipley also received an exemption. He’s been excellent on the PGA Tour after turning pro just last month.
Another exemption went to recent Gophers grad and Stillwater native Ben Warian. Other local connections include Blaine’s Jeff Sorenson, who’s in as a PGA section champion, Spring Lake Park grad Troy Merritt, Gophers alum Erik van Rooyen and past Minnesota State Amateur champ Tom Hoge.
Tournament play officially begins Thursday.
