The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits TPC Twin Cities for the 2023 3M Open. Designed by Arnold Palmer and Tom Lehman in 2000, TPC Twin Cities will play as a Par 71, 7,431 yard layout this week. In its 5th year as a PGA Tour event, the winner of this event has annually had to go low, with the winner in each of the previous 4 editions finishing at -15 or better for the week. Also worth noting is that all 4 of the previous winners of this event have been Americans. Last year’s tournament was won by Tony Finau, who came from five strokes back with eleven holes to play to win by three strokes over Emiliano Grillo and Sungjae Im.
Player to Fade:
It’s been far from smooth sailing for Kevin Roy during his rookie season on tour, totaling just 2 top 25 finishes and 8 made cuts in 23 starts. Even though Roy is fresh off of a top 20 finish at the Barracuda Championship, his game is still in shambles, losing strokes in 4 of the 6 major Strokes Gained categories. Roy seems almost destined for another missed cut this week.
Dark Horse:
The 656th ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, this season has been far from a success for Hank Lebioda, with just 2 top 25 finishes and 6 made cuts in 18 starts. However, there is room for hope for Lebioda, as he has had some success in this event, making the cut here in 3 of his 4 previous starts, including 2 finishes inside the top 30. Some players seem to find their groove in certain events, no matter what state their game is in. We predict that Lebioda will recapture some of his old mojo this week and pick up his 3rd top 25 finish of the season.
Top 10:
Emiliano Grillo is in the midst of a career resurgence, ending a nearly 8 year winless streak earlier this season at the Charles Schwab Challenge. This season as a whole has been successful for Grillo, with 1 win, 6 top 10’s, and 9 top 25’s in 25 starts, including a T-6 finish last week at the Open Championship. This event must be Grillo’s favorite event on tour, as he has 2 top 3 finishes here in 3 starts, finishing T-2 last year and T-3 in 2020. Some courses are the perfect fit for a golfer and TPC Twin Cities is one of those for Grillo. No doubt about it that Grillo bring homes a top 10 finish this week.
Winner:
It’s hard to imagine Hideki Matsuyama missing the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but with only the top 70 getting in this season, it’s a real possibility, as Matsuyama sits in 54th place with just two weeks to go in the regular season. Matsuyama hasn’t had a bad year, but he also hasn’t been lighting up leaderboards, with 2 top 10’s, 10 top 25’s, and just 3 missed cuts in 21 starts. Matsuyama’s games has been trending in the right direction, with 3 top 20 finishes in his last 5 starts, as well having past success in this event, finishing T-7 here in 2019. Matsuyama is ranked inside the top 20 in 4 of the 6 major Strokes Gained categories, but is losing strokes with the putter. If Hideki’s putter shows up to play this week, you better believe that he will take home the victory at the 3M Open!