I already miss major championship season. The Open Championship is pretty consistently my favorite major, and this year absolutely delivered, both in the winner and idiotic discourse and pumping more noise into the Bryson content machine.
I think the idea of "intent" in applying the rules of a sport to an athlete's infraction should be completely ignored, and I understand why the R&A had to say Bryson accidentally trampled down the tall grass on 5 on Friday, but for him to be upset about the rules actually being applied when he knows exactly what he did is damning not only on Bryson seeing himself as being above the law, but also on the PGA Tour that clearly these golfers feel so comfortable doing something against the rules because the rules officials on Tour or on LIV just let it slide.
Bryson aside, major props have to be given to Ryan Fox for conquering Royal Birkdale. He's one of the hardest-working guys on Tour, he's fought long and hard to get to where he is, and truly his pace around the course should be the thing that is copied the most by amateur golfers. Were they the champions we thought we would get when we looked at the majors at the beginning of the year? Not at all, but 2026 still proved to be a great year at the majors, and I can't wait to see what 2027 brings.
Enough about the past and the future, we need to focus on the present. We come back to the United States for the 3M Open, which boasts a surprising name in the field: Scottie Scheffler. That's right, the world No. 1 is going direct from Heathrow to Minneapolis this week for an event he has never played in before. Maybe he's trying to check off all the tournaments that are bound to be relegated in 2028? We'll never know for sure, but it will be fun to see how Scottie, in the midst of his first non-major-winning year since 2023, will tackle another TPC setup.
The rankings last week really struggled coming off of the double win. Scheffler ended up being our closest name at The Open, and the less said about Puntacana, the better. We officially end this year going two for four in the majors, counting the Wyndham honorable mention at Shinnecock. It's a step down from last year, but we'll take it in a year where there were no multi-major champions. Let's get back on the horse this week.
Honorable Mentions: Lucas Glover, Preston Stout, Jesper Svensson, Gary Woodland, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
9. Mac Meissner
Mac Meissner could be Ben Griffin, and I don't say that lightly. He has the skillset through the bag to find more success on Tour, the driver is just holding him back a little bit. He's a solid ball striker, a pretty good putter, and when he does get the big dog to cooperate, he tends to work his way up leaderboards.
He finished T14 here last season, primarily relying on his irons and wedges to lead him to the result. We've seen him threaten at the John Deere and the Byron Nelson this season, so why can't the 27-year-old come in hot off a rest and find his way to a late Sunday tee time?
8. Kurt Kitayama
Our defending champion this week, Kurt Kitayama is seemingly a horse for TPC Twin Cities. In his two starts here, he has finished T6 and won the tournament. The 33-year-old has been one of the best ball strikers on Tour this year, and it's been a matter of getting the putter to cooperate for him. Kitayama found a stretch of play where he logged five straight top-25 finishes earlier this season, so if he can refind that form, it should be good enough to lift the trophy once again.
7. Tom Kim
I know, I know, I got way too excited about Tom Kim winning the Scottish Open. Hand up, that's on me and seemingly the entirety of the golf betting public (Tom Kim and Matt Fitzpatrick were always going to miss the cut, there was too much money on them). However, Kim should be feeling much better about the current state of his game as he comes back to the States.
He's been decent at the 3M in the past, but his game is basically back to where it was when we all started having these fanciful thoughts of Tom Kim being a dominant force on Tour a few years ago. Remember, this is still so early in the grand scheme of the 24-year-old's career, so don't be surprised by more twists and turns, including a potential win this weekend.
6. Jackson Suber
I know his Sunday was very disappointing, but I think Jackson Suber should be proud of his T28 at The Open last weekend, especially since that was the first time he had played links golf. He's been playing some really solid golf recently, including a T4 in Canada and a T6 at the John Deere.
While the consistency hasn't quite gotten there for Suber, he has definitely raised his ceiling in his second full year on Tour. With the schedule changes coming in 2028 squeezing out guys like Suber from the top events, he may be setting himself up for Tour success right at the perfect time.
5. Ben James
In five pro starts since turning professional, Ben James has finished in the top 25 three times and held the 36-hole lead in his first pro start in Canada (there's no need to talk about where he finished). He had his most complete tournament last week in Puntacana, where he finished T4 in the birdie fest.
James has showcased his great ball-striking ability since going pro, and I don't see why that level of play stops this week at a relatively straightforward setup. I know Jackson Koivun is going to be getting the headlines this week, but I'll take the Connecticut native this weekend.
4. Maverick McNealy
Maverick McNealy might be the player that I have used the most in these rankings since the beginning of last season who hasn't won a tournament. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're going back to the well with this one. Finishing T3 here in 2024, McNealy is looking to bounce back from a bit of a rough stretch, including his missed cut last weekend at The Open. We're still waiting on that big breakthrough week from McNealy this season, and I think this week is the time that it finally comes for him.
3. Max Homa
After disappearing back into the wilderness post-club switch to Cobra, Max Homa has finally started to show a little bit of somewhat consistent form in recent weeks, peaking with his second-place finish at the John Deere a few weeks ago. Homa finished T3 here back in 2020, while gaining nothing off of the tee in terms of strokes gained. As long as he can keep up his rebounding approach play, as well as a warm putter, I think Homa can prove to be dangerous this weekend in Minnesota.
2. Pierceson Coody
Pierceson Coody got a little blown out to sea once the winds kicked up over the weekend at Royal Birkdale, but still put up a respectable T28 finish in his Open debut. 2026 as a whole has been a little up and down for the 26-year-old, but he's coming back to a course where he finished T3 last season.
Coody has a great mix of being long and accurate enough off the tee that should lead to more success around TPC Twin Cities this go-around. Scottie being in the field does temper expectations a bit, but Coody can make a ton of birdies, and that may be enough this week.
1. Scottie Scheffler
With how 2026 is going for Scottie, this may be the most obvious week that he's not actually going to win this tournament just because it's a weak field he's going up against. The R&A really tried to make him a serious storyline on Sunday with that miracle drop on 17, but maybe a year of being blanked in the majors will give us angry Scottie this week and he'll give us a Houston Open-type performance. He's still the best player in the world; luck just has to run out at some point. The drop-off in putting is a concern, but again, it's a weak field.
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