It’s difficult to remember six years later, but the finish of the inaugural 3M Open in 2019 was one of the best you’ll see in a golf tournament, with Matthew Wolff, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa serving as the stallions racing full tilt down the backstretch toward the finish line.
Morikawa sputtered to start the day, only to birdie six of his final eight holes. That was just enough to catch DeChambeau, who hit a mythical approach shot on No. 18 for a short-range eagle putt that gave him the lead by one with Morikawa and Wolff still to play No. 18.
A playoff felt imminent. But Wolff had other plans, burying a 26-foot eagle putt from the fringe to seize the tournament title by one shot over his two closest competitors.
That’s what’s possible at TPC Twin Cities when the stars align on Sunday. With the potential for birdies or blowups lurking at every hole, things can change at a moment’s notice on the 3M Open leaderboard.
Look no further than Round 3 on Saturday, where Kurt Kitayama – who barely made the cut to even play the weekend – tied the tournament record that Adam Svensson just set Thursday with an 11-under round of 60 to move to 17-under on the tournament, now just one back of the lead and firmly entrenched in the title hunt.
One of the co-leaders, Akshay Bhatia, is in this position because he shot an 8-under round of 63 on Saturday.
That type of score is always out there in Blaine. How far back of co-leaders Bhatia and Thorbjorn Olesen, the 36-hold leader who made an ace on the eighth hole Saturday, is the cutoff line for who could potentially lift the trophy on the 18th green on Sunday?
Nine guys are within two shots of the lead, 15 are within three and 21 are within four.
Sam Burns is seven shots back. Who’s to say he can’t go nuclear on Sunday to win from out of nowhere? Everything is in play at the 3M Open.
Yes, Jhonnatan Vegas won from the front of the pack a year ago. But he held on for dear life to do so. Vegas, Matt Kuchar and Maverick McNealy all were in prime position heading into the final round, but largely stalled out on Sunday.
It was Max Greyserman, who began the final round six shots back, who nearly stole the championship with an 8-under 63 on Sunday, only to be clipped by one after Vegas birdied the final hole.
Sunday is different from every other day of a PGA Tour event. Pressure heightens to unthinkable levels. That’s often reflected in the play of those in contention. Rory McIlroy may have ultimately won The Masters, but after blitzing Augusta National on Friday and Saturday this spring, he was one of four players who finished in the tournament’s top 20 to shoot over par in the final round.
Two of the other three? DeChambeau and Corey Conners, who were second and third on the leaderboard heading into the final round.
Pressure can indeed make diamonds. But it can also reduce even the game’s best to rubble. McIlroy was brilliant for much of the week, but he hit a baffling pitch shot on No. 14 into the creek and, needing just a par to win the tournament, bogey the 18th hole from the middle of the fairway before finally claiming victory in a playoff.
Golf is the ultimate game of mental concentration. Twitch at the wrong moment, and a brilliant iron shot is in the water or a short putt is rolling off the lip of the cup.
No, this isn’t The Masters. No one will complete the career grand slam on Sunday. But, for many, a victory would be a box checked on a lifelong dream. Winning the 3M Open not only nets you north of $1.5 million, but also likely secures your trip to the upcoming FedEx Cup playoffs, gives you a shot to cinch your spot in next year’s elevated events, earns you a trip to next year’s Masters and, perhaps most importantly to some of the names near the top of the leaderboard, secures your spot on the PGA Tour through the 2027 campaign.
Life changing.
It will be difficult for the likes of Pierceson Coody, who’s a Korn Ferry Tour member playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption after he lost his PGA Tour card after his rookie year in 2024, to not think about that as he sits just two shots off the lead.
Because you don’t know how many chances like this you will get. Journeyman Scott Piercy led by five shots in the final round of the 2022 3M Open before imploding over the final 11 holes, lowlighted by a triple bogey on No. 14 in which he found the water on his approach out of a difficult lie from a fairway bunker.
Piercy hasn’t had full-time status on the PGA Tour since 2013.
Sunday matters.
“Yeah, it’s obviously different and it’s a big opportunity,” Olesen said. “I’m not going to lie, there’s going to be a lot of pressure.”
The challenge is to hold up to the stress. To execute every shot in the final round – many of which feature water coming down the homestretch at TPC Twin Cities – to the best of your abilities. Because you cannot play it safe. Not with this crowded of a leaderboard at a place where if you’re not going low, someone else is.
“Yeah, it’s going to be exciting,” Olesen said. “I’m happy to be in this position going into tomorrow. It’s going to take a lot, there’s a lot of guys up there. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of birdies. It will be difficult for sure.”
You have to hit the ball over large bodies of water on each of the final two closing holes to stuff it close, knowing bogey, or worse, is in play if you take on the risk.
That even reared its head Saturday, as Alex Noren stepped onto the 17th tee in a tie for the lead. He hit his first shot way off line and made double bogey. Coody and Chris Gotterup were among contenders who found the water on 18 in Round 3.
TPC Twin Cities is capable of producing three things in spades – dominance, destruction and drama. That’s all you can ask for in the final round of a golf tournament.
The stage is set for perhaps the best final round in 3M Open history on Sunday – which, given the event’s brief history, is saying something special.
Said Noren: “It will be a fun day.”
Akshay Bhatia of the United States reacts to his putt on the 16th green during the third round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 26, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Kurt Kitayama of the United States reacts with his caddie Daniel Kitayama on the 18th green during the third round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 26, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Tom Kim of South Korea plays his shot from the 18th tee during the third round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 26, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
Amateur Michael La Sasso of the United States plays his shot from the 16th tee during the third round of the 3M Open 2025 at TPC Twin Cities on July 26, 2025 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
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