When the professional golf tournament in Blaine made the shift from hosting the PGA Tour Champions to the PGA Tour — the top pro men’s golf tour in the world — in 2019, there was a question hanging over the event: How would TPC Twin Cities hold up to some of the best the game has to offer?

The 50-plus-year-old legends ripped up the course over three days each summer. Now, players who could hit it infinitely harder were set to take it on? It couldn’t happen as the course stood.

So, Tom Lehman guided an overhaul that lengthened holes and bodies of water, among other things, to make the course more PGA Tour tough. Not that the 3M Open didn’t want to see scoring. Tournament executive director Hollis Cavner’s consistent moniker has been the pursuit of “birdies and trainwrecks.”

And, for the most part, there’s been a good balance of both over the tournament’s first six years, as the course has held up remarkably well. In three of the past four editions, the winning score was no better than 17-under par — the same tally Scottie Scheffler posted to win The Open last week.

Adam Svensson got 65% of the way to that score on Thursday. The Canadian tied the course record — previously set in the 3M Championship — and set a new tournament record Thursday as he fired an 11-under round of 60. And his lead is just two strokes over Sam Stevens and Thorbjørn Olesen, with a hoard of others following closely behind.

Three golfers shot 8-under rounds of 63, including the red-hot Chris Gotterup, who tallied a win and a third-place finish in two weeks played across the pond.

Thirty-four players shot rounds of 66 or better. Seventy-two percent of the field is under par through one round. Svensson surmised Thursday marked the best he’s ever putted, and he did lead the field with nearly five strokes gained on the greens.

But Thursday marked the rare day on the PGA Tour where it was possible to score even while not rolling the rock well. Emiliano Grillo shot a 65, despite losing nearly 1.5 strokes to the field putting, as he stuck his approaches near the cup on nearly every hole. Only three of the 18 holes played over par in Round 1.

Cumulatively, the 156-player field shot 335-under par Thursday.

“This course, it’s a great course, but it’s pretty straightforward,” Stevens said. “Not a whole lot of adjustments, just sort of point and shoot, and make as many birdies as you can.”

TPC Twin Cities’ primary defense is frequently the wind, of which there was little to none on Thursday. That issue was compounded by the massive allotment of rainfall that came Wednesday, which wiped out three-quarters of the scheduled pro-am and severely softened the course.

The wet conditions forced the PGA Tour to instill a “lift, clean and place” protocol in which players can pick up their ball anytime it lands in a shortly mown area — such as the fairway — clean it and set it up however they’d like. That erases the opportunity for mud balls and guarantees a perfect lie, which is generally thought to shave a stroke or two off a pro’s score for a round.

Friday’s second round could potentially bring more of the same. The forecast suggests the morning wave of golfers will play its first nine holes in 2-3 mph winds, with the wind “maxing out” at 6 mph in the afternoon.

Again, benign.

If Thursday’s results are replicated in Round 2, 6-under will be required simply to play the weekend. It’s not unimaginable that Svensson, or someone else, will have the lead pushed out to 17-under by the end of Round 2.

“Still tomorrow, it’s going to be fairly soft,” surmised Rickie Fowler, who fired a 65 on Thursday.

Things will level out over the weekend with no more projected rain in the coming days and winds expected to reach double digits in miles per hour over the weekend.

Don’t expect TPC Twin Cities to surrender a score like the 31-under par Scheffler won the Byron Nelson with earlier this year at TPC Craig Ranch.

More trainwrecks are likely to come on Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully, there is enough past evidence to know the course can provide a legitimate test, even if it got embarrassed on Thursday.

“This course is still pretty challenging,” said Matti Schmid, who fired a 63 Thursday. “I think you get some crosswinds and there are some tee shots with water. You still have to drive it pretty well, and also some of the par 3s, like 17 you have to hit a really good shot.”

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American Public Media Group, the nonprofit parent company of Minnesota Public Radio, announced Thursday that it will be reducing its staff as a result of recent government budget cuts to public broadcasting.

APMG plans to lay off 5% to 8% of its staff “in the coming weeks” and reduce employee benefits as it faces a more than $6 million budget deficit due to federal and state budget cuts, the St. Paul-based media company said in a statement.

“While we are fortunate among public media organizations to be in a relatively strong financial position, these are significant cuts,”  Roycie Eppler, chief people and culture officer for APMG, said in the statement.

In a move spurred by the Trump administration, the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate last week rescinded $1.1 billion in already-approved funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2026 and 2027. That effectively fully defunded the organization that directs federal dollars to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting System and some 1,500 local public radio and TV stations around the country, including Minnesota Public Radio.

Federal funding accounts for about 6% of MPR’s budget, the organization’s news division reported.

Minnesota lawmakers, aiming to tighten the new state budget, earlier this year also cut $1 million annually from MPR’s allocation for cultural heritage and legacy programming. That left the broadcaster with $2 million through June 2027, down from $4 million in the prior state budget, according to MPR News.

With a staff of approximately 500, 25 to 40 employees at APMG could soon lose their jobs. The company did not share details about which positions could be cut.

“We are working through details with care and respect and will continue to keep our team updated,” Eppler said.

APMG includes MPR and its news division; The Current, its contemporary music service; and YourClassical, its classical music service. It also includes American Public Media, which produces national public radio programming such as “Marketplace” and “The Splendid Table,” and Southern California Public Radio, a public radio network in the Los Angeles area.

Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of layoffs at Twin Cities Public Television, the PBS station in Minneapolis-St. Paul, which was also impacted by the clawed-back federal funding. St. Paul-based TPT announced this week that it is laying off approximately 25 people across multiple departments.

The federal budget cuts are also expected to disrupt operations at four PBS outlets in greater Minnesota as well as other public radio stations outside the large MPR network, including Jazz88, community radio station KFAI and others.

“For nearly 60 years, public media has earned the support and trust of the American people as the country’s only local, no-cost, commercial-free, nonprofit news, information and culture service, resulting from a highly efficient public-private partnership,” Eppler said. “While we work through these financial challenges, we remain dedicated to our public service mission.”

The CPB, a private nonprofit, was created by bipartisan congressional approval in the 1960s. Trump administration officials tied the current funding cuts — which passed in both the Senate and House of Representatives on slim party-line margins — to an alleged left-leaning political bias within public media programming, though such concerns have not been well-substantiated by policymakers.

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By MEG KINNARD and JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is eyeing redistricting efforts beyond Texas to help Republicans hold the U.S. House in 2026 — and Democrats are preparing to escalate in response, with one senator vowing to go “nuclear” if needed.

What’s shaping up to be a multi-state redistricting battle could mark the opening round for House control ahead of next year’s midterms, when Democrats see retaking the House as the party’s best chance to break Republicans’ hold on Congress and President Donald Trump is determined to keep the GOP’s majority. Democrats, under pressure from their base to match GOP tactics, have grown more forceful in their messaging and are taking concrete steps to push back, even as the party enters at a disadvantage.

“If they’re going to go nuclear, then so am I,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin. “They’re forcing us into this position because they’re trying to pick their voters.”

At Trump’s urging, Texas Republicans are looking to redraw congressional maps to favor GOP candidates during a 30-day special legislative session that started this week. Trump has said he wants to carve out five new winnable GOP seats.

But Trump officials are now going beyond just Texas, looking to redraw lines in other states such as Missouri, according to a person familiar with conversations but unauthorized to speak publicly about them.

Democrats have fewer options. More of the states the party controls do not allow elected partisans to draw maps, instead entrusting groups such as independent commissions to draw fair lines.

Still, party leaders are exploring their legal options and shifting their posture. A party long known for believing it’s on the moral high ground is signaling it’s ready to fight dirty.

“We can’t fight with one hand behind our backs,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters Tuesday.

Texas state Rep. Jolanda “Jo” Jones looks through U.S. Congressional District maps during a redistricting hearing at the Texas Capitol, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Democrats explore their own redistricting map plans

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries may have fewer options to match Republicans, but it hasn’t stopped him from exploring them.

Earlier this month, Jeffries’ team spoke with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office about redistricting after the news in Texas, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Drawing new congressional lines now could run afoul of the state constitution and undoubtedly draw legal challenges — but it doesn’t appear to be off the table.

“What I’m going to say is, all is fair in love and war,” Hochul said Thursday, adding that she’s “going to see what our options are.”

“If there’s other states that are violating the rules that are going to try and give themselves an advantage, all I’ll say is I’m going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries.”

Jeffries and his advisers have also examined legal strategies in other states with Democratic trifectas, including California, where he recently met with the state’s congressional delegation.

“Two can play this game,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic contender for president in 2028, said on social media in response to Trump’s redistricting push.

An independent commission handles redistricting in his state. Newsom has floated the notion of California’s Democratic-controlled legislature doing a mid-decade redistricting, arguing it wouldn’t be expressly forbidden by the 2008 ballot initiative that created the commission. He’s also mentioned the possibility of squeezing in a special election to repeal the popular commission system before the 2026 elections get underway, either of which would be a long shot.

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Democrats see redistricting fight as an avenue to pushback

Beyond the behind-the-scenes maneuvering, Democrats see the redistricting fight as an opportunity to meet the moment politically — delivering the kind of aggressive pushback their voters have demanded.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, in a series of social media posts, pushed Democrats to fight back, saying the party should “gerrymander to help Democrats” and arguing they should dilute heavily Democratic districts to secure more seats “everywhere.”

“It’s time for Democrats to understand the existential threat. Republicans aren’t playing around and they will do this as long as it takes to keep power,” he warned.

Gallego later told the Associated Press it’s simply about ensuring “that we’re also fighting back.”

That sentiment has gained traction beyond Congress. Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke said Sunday on CNN that Democrats need to be “to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power.”

Next month, former President Barack Obama is heading to Martha’s Vineyard for a fundraiser benefitting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that has filed and supported litigation in several states over GOP-drawn districts. Eric Holder, Obama’s former attorney general who chairs the outfit, is expected to attend, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to a copy of the invitation first reported by Politico.

The group has been critical of Texas’ efforts, in a release earlier this week accusing Texas Republicans of “following Donald Trump’s orders to try to cheat their way to a House majority because they are terrified of facing voters after taking health care away from millions of Americans and giving a massive tax cut to the wealthy.”

Redrawing maps could be risky for GOP

Redrawing of congressional maps holds risks. During the 2010s, Texas’ GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the congressional map to bolster the party’s majority. But the advantage proved short-lived: in 2018, a backlash to Trump’s presidency helped Democrats flip two seats that Republicans had assumed were safely red.

“There had to be folks that drew these lines and everything that had a very strong opinion of exactly where they ought to be,” said West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice, a Republican. “Now just to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to redraw this, we’re going to redraw that. And by god, if you’re going to redraw, we’re going to redraw.’ I don’t like that.”

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday that he has not yet spoken to any Republicans in his state about redistricting but that it’s up to the Missouri legislature and governor to make the call.

“I’d love to have more Republicans,” Hawley said.

Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.

Kinnard reported from Chapin, S.C., and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP