BLAINE, Minn. – The leaderboard at the 3M Open is topped by a couple of crafty veterans who haven’t been there much of late, but some young challengers are lurking heading into the final round at TPC Twin Cities.
Jhonattan Vegas fired one of four rounds of 63 on Saturday to climb to 16-under 197 and claim a one-stroke leader over Matt Kuchar.
Vegas, 39, is playing on a major-medical extension after undergoing two surgeries the previous two years and entered the week at No. 149 in the FedEx Cup. He’s seeking his first win since the 2017 RBC Canadian Open. Kuchar, 46, entered the week at No. 155 in the FedEx Cup and winless since the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Midway through Saturday’s third round there was a five-way tie for the lead after 36-hole leader Taylor Pendrith, who played his first 38 holes without a bogey, hit a string of three bogeys in four holes and then made a double at No. 11. He finished at 2-over 73 and drifted back to T-9.
TPC Twin Cities is known to be a birdie-fest but with 27 water hazards and throw in wind gusting to 28 miles per hour and it was a recipe for a day of volatility on the leaderboard.
Patrick Fishburn, Maverick McNealy, Kuchar and Vegas took advantage of a few tees being moved up and still lit up the Arnold Palmer design to the tune of 63. Sahith Theegala, who is lurking four back (T-4), took his hat off to the players who went low and McNealy and Fishburn both agreed it likely will take another low round on Sunday to take home the trophy.
“I think tomorrow’s going to be even more difficult, greens are going to be even firmer, winds are going to be up just as high,” McNealy said. “As you can see by the guys on the leaderboard, you’re still going to have to go make a bunch of birdies tomorrow.”
Here are five things to know from the third round of the 2024 3M Open.
3M Open: Leaderboard | Photos | Merchandise
Vegas, baby!
Jhonattan Vegas is 39 and the three-time Tour winner hasn’t tasted victory since the 2017 RBC Canadian Open. He’s playing off of a major medical extension this season with 25 starts to earn 327 points (he’s earned 180 coming into this week). The Venezuelan hasn’t recorded a top-10 finish since the Corales Puntacana Championship in March 2022. He also didn’t play between the 2023 Valspar Championship in March and the Sony Open in Hawaii in January after undergoing two surgeries – one to his right elbow and the other to his right shoulder.
“I tried to play through it,” he said of elbow injury, “which caused a little inflammation in the right shoulder the following year, so I had to have another surgery then the following year in ’23. So it’s not 100 percent, it’s never going to be 100 percent. Anytime you have surgery, especially two surgeries in one arm, it’s never fun. So still dealing with it, but obviously slowly getting better, which is nice to feel.”
Vegas has been returning to form with three straight made cuts and is coming off his best result in 14 starts this season, a T-20 at the John Deere Classic. This week, he’s played the front nine in even par, which includes a triple bogey on Thursday, and the back side in 16 under. His game has been a balanced attack: second in Strokes Gained: Approach, third in SG: Tee to Green and seventh in SG: Putting. How does it feel to be back in contention for his first win in more than seven years?
“Good. I mean, really good,” he said. “Obviously a lot of the effort is definitely paying back, which is what you always want to feel. Just kind of makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing and you’ve just got to keep working hard.”
Roars for KUCH!
Matt Kuchar remembers being eight years old and the name on the back of his first soccer jersey said simply, “Kuch.” It’s a nickname that has stuck all these years.
“It is fun to hear the Kuchs wherever I go,” he said.
There hasn’t been many reasons to cheer for Kuchar this year, who missed the cut in nine of his first 11 starts this season. He’s made five of his last seven cuts but still has recorded just one top-20 finish all season and is in jeopardy of failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time. He’s the only player to qualify for all 17 editions.
“Gosh, I haven’t lost my job in a long time, I certainly don’t want this year to be the year I lose my job,” he said.
Time is running out but Kuchar is fighting hard this week. On Saturday, he chipped in for eagle at the last hole to shoot 8-under 63, his best round of the season by two strokes.
“When I hit it I knew it was going to be good, knew it was going to be at least close to the hole, and for it to go in was a very cool finish,” he said. “It was awfully exciting to have that many people get so excited when the ball disappeared.”
Despite a birdie at No. 2, it didn’t look as if Kuchar was going to mount a charge after he tugged his tee shot into the water at the fourth and took three putts to make double bogey. But he bounced back with four straight birdies.
“I pride…
