2021 3M Open: Tournament preview and picks guide

The PGA returns to TPC Twin Cities this week for the third edition of the 3M Open. While last week didn’t produce the type of British Open that we have come to expect over the years, it did provide us with another thrilling major while putting some exclamation point at the end of this historic major run that saw six majors played since last September.

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Collin Morikawa continues to amaze and achieve things that few have accomplished at such a young age, and even reach milestones that nobody in the history of golf has accomplished. After his sensational win at Royal St George’s Morikawa became the first player to win two majors in his first showing on golf’s biggest stage, adding the Claret jug to go alongside the Wanamaker trophy that he won last summer.

Attention now turns towards the FedEx Cup as players look to position themselves inside the top 125 on the points list with just a few events remaining on the regular-season schedule. The 156 man field this week travels north for the 3M Open, an event that made its first appearance on the PGA schedule back in 2019. A handful of stars from last week travel back across the pond for this week’s event, including now World number two Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed, and Tony Finau. 2019 3M Open winner Matthew Wolff is also in the field this week after a couple of weeks off.

2021 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities

Established in 2019
PAR 71 Arnold Palmer design with assistance from player consultant Tom Lehman
7,431 Yards
Bentgrass Greens
156 Man Field/Top 65 and ties make the cut

Past Winners

2020: Michael Thompson (-19)

2019: Matthew Wolff (-21)

The Favorites at the 2021 3M Open

The odds used in this article are provided by WynnBet and are current at the time of the article, for more betting news and information be sure to check out the recently launched Betsided site.

(Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) /

Dustin Johnson +700 opens as the significant favorite this week and although he lost his number one ranking over the weekend to Jon Rahm, he has been beginning to play much better of late and is coming off of an 8th place finish at the British Open. Louis Oosthuizen +1200 follows Johnson at the top of the board and the South African will be looking to rebound this week following another disappointing finish at a major after having had led last week for the first three rounds before struggling a bit on Sunday.

Tony Finau +1400 and Patrick Reed +1700 close out the upper tier this week with the former having come close at the 3M Open last year with a 3rd place finish in his second start at TPC Twin Cities. It’s difficult to determine the effects that last week will have taken on this group and after Michael Thompson won this event last year at long-odds I’ll be looking further down the board here.

THE MID TIER

Emiliano Grillo +2500 is intriguing in this spot after a nice showing at the British Open last week where he finished 12th. The Argentine was 3rd at the 3M Open last year, but it’s difficult to back a player with his win equity at such a short price, and prior to last week he had missed three cuts in a row.

Both Keegan Bradley +2500 and Cameron Tringale +2500 sit alongside Grillo to begin the group at the top of this middle tier. Of the two Tringale comes in with better form and is certainly not afraid to compete in birdie-fests.

Sergio Garcia +3000, Matthew Wolff +3000, and Bubba Watson +3000 headline the next group in this range, along with Robert Macintyre +3000 and Doug Ghim +3000 ( yes you read that correctly, Doug Ghim!). As tempting as it is to back Dough Ghim at those odds, it’s actually Bubba Watson who I’ll begin this week’s card with.

Watson ranks 11th in strokes gained off the tee in 2021 and one of the key factors this week will be not only distance but keeping the ball in play with water coming into play across the majority of TPC Twin Cities 18 holes. Bubba also ranks top 30 in ball striking and has been playing some excellent golf in recent starts.

The two time Masters champion had to pull out of the British Open last week due to contact tracing protocols, but in his two previous starts he had finishes of 6th and 19th, and he was in contention at the latter as well before a disastrous finish on Sunday ended his chances at the Travelers. The 6th place finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his last start stands out as there has been some crossover between the leaderboards at that event and this week’s 3M Open over the past two years.

Two Australians help to close out the mid-tier this week in both Cameron Davis +4000 and Lucas Herbert +4000. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker +4000, and Brendon Todd +4000, can also be found in this range. Davis is interesting after his win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic a couple of weeks ago, but I’ll look for a few at longer odds to finish things up.

South African Dylan Frittelli +5000 will be the next addition to this week’s card for the 3M Open after his excellent showing at the British Open last week where he finished 5th. Frittelli doesn’t have the best form coming in apart from last week, but he can score with the best of them and he was 18th at the 3M Open last year. I’ll get on board with this number and hope that his showing from last week can continue over into this.

Troy Merritt +7500 came so close to a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic a couple of weeks ago and now he returns to Minnesota to a course where he finished 7th at in 2019. Troy is a good putter and he tends to play well in high-scoring events, he also played collegiate golf in the state at Winona State University.

I’ll add another in this range with Jhonattan Vegas +7500 who ranks 4th in strokes gained off the tee in 2021 and who has been excellent with his irons in recent starts. Vegas has gained strokes on approach in three consecutive starts now, and he has recorded an 11th and a 2nd place finish in two of his last three starts.

Next. 2021 Open Championship: Winners and Losers. dark

I’ll finish this week’s card for the 3M Open with Sam Ryder +15000 who had a nice finish at last week’s Barbasol Championship where he finished 3rd, in large part due to an excellent display with his approach play where he gained incredible figures reaching double digits. Ryder finished 34th at the 3M Open in 2019 and I’ll take a chance with him in this spot after last week’s performance at big odds, while also looking to add him in the place markets as well.

2021 3M Open Card

Bubba Watson +3000

Dylan Frittelli +5000

Troy Merritt +7500

Jhonattan Vegas +7500

Sam Ryder +15000

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