In a largely young 3M Open field, the tournament’s oldest competitor made a push toward the top of the leaderboard in the second round.
Stewart Cink, 51, started off Friday with back-to-back bogeys at TPC Twin Ciites in Blaine. But the 2009 British Open champion didn’t panic. An eagle on the next hole set him back on the right track, and he finished the day 7 under par after shooting 69, tied for ninth and five strokes back from leader Taylor Pendrith.
“Yesterday, I felt very in control, and immediately right out of the box today, I’m not in control,” Cink said. “That’s a mental grind. You have to dig deep and use all the tools that you’ve developed over the years of experience and mental training and coaching and preparation to keep battling and know that’s an outlier.”
Balancing his time between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, the eight-time Tour winner has not won a PGA Tour event since the RBC Heritage in 2021 but has finished in the top 10 in four of five of his age-50-plus events this year. In December, Cink changed coaches and altered his swing, still fine-tuning elements of his game even after “doing this my whole adult life,” he said.
“I still love it just as much as I ever did,” said Cink, noting that he is now focusing on individual event finishes more than his cumulative season standings. “It’s not always easy. In fact, it’s never easy, but it’s just a pleasure to battle out there.”
Gary Woodland, who won the U.S. Open in 2019, is another former major winner at 7 under.
Getting close
In his five years on the PGA Tour, Matt NeSmith has yet to win an event. But two weeks ago, he came as close as he ever had, finishing second after a five-way playoff at the ISCO Championship in Nicholasville, Ky.
“It was just nice to be back in the thick of it, and it was nice to show myself that I could do it again,” NeSmith said. “It’s been a long time, since the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 in Boise, Idaho.
“I definitely felt more comfortable coming down the stretch today, and hopefully that will lead on to the weekend.”
NeSmith shot 7-under 64 Friday, putting him at 10 under for the tournament and second on the leaderboard. He hit five birdies, an eagle and no bogeys.
“You never know when you’re going to get hot, you never know when good golf’s coming,” NeSmith said. “Just kind of try and be patient, try and keep calmer heads, and you never know what will happen.”
Pendrith and Doug Ghim are the only other golfers to shoot 64 during a windy second round.
Battling back
Three years ago, Jhonattan Vegas finished tied for second at the 2021 3M Open. In the two years between, Vegas had back-to-back elbow and shoulder surgeries. Back at his first 3M Open since, Vegas shot 66 Friday, putting him tied for fifth at 8 under.
“Golf is a game of confidence. Obviously, having two surgeries back-to-back years, just kind of the past couple of years [I’m] not hitting the shots that I normally hit,” Vegas said.
The 39-year-old Venezuelan spent time in Miami and Houston “just trying to piece the swing and the game back together.” His past three tournaments, Vegas has finished in the top 30.
“Obviously, it was time to see some really good things in the game, and confidence is building,” Vegas said.
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• First-round leader Jacob Bridgeman shot 70 Friday and is tied for third at 9 under with Andrew Putnam.
