Fresh off the year’s final major, the PGA Tour returns to TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open. The 3M is in just its third year on the Tour schedule, Michael Thompson is the defending champion after defeating Adam Long by two shots a year ago.
Matt Wolff returns to the site of his first PGA Tour win looking to become the first two-time winner of this event. Just four events remain until the FedEx Cup playoffs, and the 3M provides players with a chance to earn valuable points in the relatively weak field.
DraftKings divides players into tiers for users to pick from. The tiers are tournament favorite, bomber, ball striker, short gamer, birdie maker, long shot.
Tournament favorite
Players:
Louis Oosthuizen
The pick: Dustin Johnson
Johnson has been in a relative slump of late, as he has just two top-10 finishes since his win at The Masters last November. But Johnson is coming off a T8 finish last week at Royal St. George’s and seems prime to break out of his slump this week.
Bomber
Players:
Cameron Tringale
Bubba Watson
Matt Wolff
The pick: Emiliano Grillo
Grillo missed three straight cuts following a T8 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but bounced back nicely with a T12 finish at The Open last week. TPC Twin Cities is yet another PGA Tour venue that is a ball striker’s paradise. These venues don’t place quite as much of a premium on putting—Grillo ranks 112th on Tour in SG: Putting—but they reward a solid ball striker who can get his putter rolling well for a week. Grillo’s excellent ball striking stats should lead him into contention this week.
Ball Striker
Players:
Cameron Davis
Patrick Reed
Robert Macintyre
Sergio Garcia
The pick: Keegan Bradley
Bradley showed flashes at the Rocket Mortgage, gaining 5.5 strokes on approach shots in Detroit. He once again struggled with his putting as he lost over four strokes on the greens that week. Bradley has had a solid season thus far—four top-10s and 10 top-25s in 24 events, including a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship—and should keep it rolling if he can get things going on the greens this week.
Short gamer
Players:
Patton Kizzire
Stewart Cink
Hank Lebioda
Maverick McNealy
Charl Schwartzel
Gary Woodland
The pick: Hank Lebioda
I’m continuing to ride the hot hand with Lebioda. He has top-10 finishes in each of his last three starts and has seven top-25s in 21 events this season. Lebioda continues to hit it solid, he’s 45th in Strokes Gained: Approach and a top-25 putter on Tour. He comes in at a solid 75th in SG: Tee-To-Green. Overall, his stats are very well rounded and he could be poised to put all the pieces together and earn his first PGA Tour win this week.
Birdie Maker
Players:
Doug Ghim
Luke List
Charles Howell III
Dylan Frittelli
The pick: Doug Ghim
Ghim is coming off a T18 finish at the John Deere Classic and has been an excellent ball striker this season. Ghim ranks 75th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and 16th in Strokes Gained: Approach. He is 25th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 54th in Strokes Gained: Total. Like most players this far down the list, Ghim’s putting is holding him back as he ranks 167th in Strokes Gained: Putting. His short game is solid, ranking 66th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, so if he has a decent putting week, he could light up the leaderboards at TPC Twin Cities.
Long Shot
Players:
Jhonnattan Vegas
Lanto Griffin
Joel Dahmen
Ryan Moore
Patrick Rodgers
Richie Werenski
The pick: Jhonnattan Vegas
Vegas has been in good form with three top-15 finishes in his last five starts, including a T2 at Congaree and a T11 two weeks ago at the John Deere Classic. He is an excellent driver of the golf ball, ranking fourth in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. He has also been a good overall player, ranking 40th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. If he can have a good putting week, he will be in contention at TPC Twin Cities.
