What: The 3M Open is the penultimate regular-season tournament on the PGA Tour. It’s one of the last two events for which players can earn qualifying points in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which begin with the St. Jude’s Championship in Memphis on Aug. 15.
Where: The Tournament Players Club Twin Cities in Blaine. (Par 71, 7,431 yards).
Purse: $8.1 million ($1.49 million to the winner). Winner gets 500 FedEx Cup points.
Cut: Low 65 players and ties from the 156-player field after 36 holes.
Tickets: Grounds tickets are $31 for practice days Tuesday and Wednesday, $71 for tournament days Thursday through Sunday. There are specialty seating areas and passes anywhere from $106 at the 19th Hole Ultra Club, $166 to the Stilly Party Deck to $506 to spend the day at “Arnies Cabin.” There also are student discounts. Active, retired and veteran military members are eligible for two complimentary grounds passes for one day of tournament play Thursday-Sunday.
Post Play Par Tee: Tickets for Saturday are $65 for golf-only, $95 for all-day golf and a Saturday night concert by country music singer Chris Lane. It is expected to begin about 45 minutes after play concludes or approximately 6:45 p.m.
Schedule: Gates open for practice rounds at 8 a.m. Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. Tournament days they open at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and 6:15 a.m. on Friday.
Parking: It is bought only online and is $12 to park and shuttle ride from the nearby National Sports Center. Shuttles start running at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, 6:15 a.m Wednesday-Sunday.
Know before you go: Spectators can take photos with their phones all week throughout the course, except in competition areas during tournament rounds Thursday to Sunday when no cameras are allowed or when requested by players, security or tour officials. Receiving or making phone calls remain limited to designated “Cell Phone Zones.” Devices must be on silent at all times, no flash allowed. Personal bags 6″x6″ or smaller are allowed, as are clear plastic not exceeding 12″x 6″x12″.
TV: 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday on Golf Channel. Noon-2:30 Saturday and Sunday on Golf Channel, 2-5 on CBS. The broadcast crew includes Jim Nantz on play-by-play and analyst Trevor Immelman.
Weather: Long-range forecasts calls for highs in the 80s, rising to 90 and mostly cloudy by Saturday and Sunday. A 30% chance of rain and storms, humid earlier in the week.
Last year: Former University of Alabama golfer Lee Hodges went wire-to-wire for his first PGA Tour victory. He entered the final round with a five-shot lead and won by seven shots over Martin Laird, Kevin Streelman and J.T. Poston. His 24-under score set a course record by three shots over then-rookie Mathew Wolff’s 21-under par in the inaugural 3M Open in 2019.
The field
Stuck between the British Open and the Paris Olympics on this summer’s golf schedule, the 3M Open has received commitments from 2022 champion and 18th world-ranked Tony Finau and fellow world-ranked top 30 players Sahith Theegala (11th) and Sam Burns (28th).
So have two-time major championship winner and last year’s U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, an Iowa native who’ll play the Minnesota tour event for the first time. The 2013 U.S. Open winner and European Ryder Cup star Justin Rose, among others, has also committed.
Rising rookie stars Luke Clanton, Nick Dunlap, Neal Shipley and Michael Thorbjornsen have committed to play, too.
Dunlap won the PGA Tour’s American Express event as an amateur — the first man to do so in 33 years — in Palm Springs. Clanton finished 10th and Shipley 20th at the recent Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Clanton was also runner-up at last week’s John Deere Classic
Gophers senior Ben Warian accepted a sponsor’s exemption.
Defending champion Lee Hodges returns to defend his title.
Also committed: big-hitting Billy Horschel, PGA Tour winners Daniel Berger, Brandt Snedeker and 2009 British Open champ Stewart Cink.
