PGA Tour 3M Open Preview
Tournament Preview
Fore the second week in a row the PGA Tour is at a new site. The 3M Open is staying in the midwest and heading to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. TPC Twin Cities is not new to hosting tour events though. The Champions Tour made a stop here for nearly 20 years. TPC Twin Cities is an Arnold Palmer design and was recently renovated the Tour ahead of the event.
Defending Champion - N/A
Notable Players in the Field: World No. 1 Brooks Koepka; also includes Bryson DeChambeau (8), Tony Finau (17), Jason Day (18), Patrick Reed (25), Phil Mickelson (28) and Keegan Bradley (29)
Tournament Set-up
Par: 71 Yardage: 7,441 Stimpmeter: 12
Course Statistics
Average Green Size: 6,500 sq. ft. Average Tee Size: 1,000 sq. ft. Acres of Fairway: 28Acres of Rough: 59
Number of Sand Bunkers: 72 Number of Water Hazards: 27
Soil Conditions: Sand
Water Sources: Well and holding lake
Drainage Conditions: Very good
Turfgrass
Greens: Bentgrass .100” Tees: Bentgrass .285” Fairways: Bentgrass .325” Rough: Bluegrass/Fescue 3”
Additional Notes
• 2018 renovation included narrowing of fairways, addition of bunkers and tees, repositioning tee complexes.Weather Forecast
Initial Thoughts
Just like last week, this is the first year the PGA Tour is at TPC Twin Cities so we don't have much information to go off of. This week will play similar to last weeks event but slightly longer. The grass conditions will be about the same. There are a couple of long par 4s and par 3s. The par 5s could be reachable. It will be important to stick with the stats and not do anything crazy. The players with the "hot hand" will also be a huge factor. The stats I am going to be looking at are fairways hit, greens in regulation, and proximity to the hole from 125-150 and 225 yards. Lastly, I am going to look at putting from 35 feet. With the longer approach shots the average proximity to the hole will be higher than average.
Top Dog: World number 1, Brooks Koepka, is in the field. Again with this event being a none major will he want to win?
Value Pick: Collin Morikawa has played in 3 events and has finished T14th, T35th and T36th. If he can avoid the big numbers he could have a respectable finish for a low value player.
Course Fit/Cut Maker: For the second week in a row Hideki Matsuyama is my course fit and cut maker picks. Based on the model I put together Hideki ranks number 1 overall for course fit. He is also 17/17 in cuts made.
Sleeper Pick: Charlie Hoffman is the sleeper pick this week. Based on the model, he is ranked number 5. He hasn't been playing the best golf as of late though. He is a solid ball striker and is ranked number 1 in the field in proximity to the hole from 125-150. He is in the "green" in all of the categories I feel that are important for this week. This could be Hoffman's break out week.
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