3M Open
Course: TPC Twin Cities (7,431 yards, par 71)
Purse: $8,800,000
Winner: $1,584,000 and 500 FedExCup Points
Tournament Preview
With all four major championships now in the review mirror, the focus for PGA Tour players switches to the FedExCup Playoffs. Golf's postseason is no longer just a right of passage where 125 players make it to the first leg of the playoffs. Now only the Top 70 in the FedExCup will qualify for Memphis, with it being trimmed down to 50 for the BMW Championship and 30 for the Tour Championship. Making the playoffs will give you a chance to crack the Top 50 and secure your spot in all the Signature Events in 2027, which holds even bigger importance considering the competitive model changes coming in 2028 with a strict two-track system. Making the Tour Championship this year will lock up a spot in all four of the major championships for 2027.
The 3M Open is the first of three straight regular full-field events which will give players who might have struggled to get into the majors and Signature Events a big opportunity for a late-season push to make the playoffs. Even if you fall short of the Top 70, this three-event stretch could prove big when it comes to determining who is in the Top 100 in the FedExCup at the end of the fall, as all those players secure full playing status next year.
While only eight of the Top 50 in the OWGR are teeing it up this week, 3M Open was able to land the biggest fish in the sea in World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. It seemed a bit odd when Scheffler committed to this event a couple months ago, as it is a regular event taking place the week after a major in a different country. This is also the third straight event for Scheffler. Nevertheless, it's a great get for 3M and the Twin Cities area to have the No. 1 player play your event, especially considering where this event lies on the calendar and the struggles of being able to attract top talent. Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Kim, Kurt Kitayama, Maverick McNealy, Gary Woodland, Jason Day and Max Homa make up some of the other notables teeing it up this week.
TPC Twin Cities has hosted an annual event since 2001, although the majority of those were PGA Tour Champions events. In 2019 3M was able to sign a deal for a spot on the PGA Tour calendar and it has hosted every year since. 19-year-old Matthew Wolff won the inaugural edition in dramatic fashion over Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa, while Kurt Kitayama will enter this week as the defending champion after topping Sam Stevens by one stroke last year.
This has been one of the more gettable setups on the PGA Tour. We will see plenty of birdies and eagles, but because there is so much water we will also see plenty of double-bogeys and others. It will be steamy out there this week with temperatures in the mid-80s in round one up into the mid-90s for the final round. Balls will be flying this week in the hot conditions and the players will have to try to stay cool and not lose focus.
Recent Champions
2025 - Kurt Kitayama (-23)
2024 - Jhonattan Vegas (-17)
2023 - Lee Hodges (-24)
2022 - Tony Finau (-17)
2021 - Cameron Champ (-15)
2020 - Michael Thompson (-19)
2019 - Matthew Wolff (-21)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/Proximity 175-225 Yards
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- Distance From Edge of Fairway/Birdie Average
Champion's Profile
TPC Twin Cities offers spacious fairways, but the water hazards will leave some doubt in the minds of players. Bombers have had a lot of success here over the years, but control also is needed to avoid the big numbers that will be easy to come by. The GIR percentage for the field will be quite high compared to Tour average, so separation will have to come in proximity. Unlike a lot of birdie-fests, TPC Twin Cities will feature a lot less wedges. Proximity in the 175-225 yard range will be critical, especially considering the par-3s on the course all fall into that area.
Players will be able to make a lot of putts on these bentgrass greens. The make percentage inside of 10 feet will be quite high and this isn't typically a place we see a lot of three-putts. Short game numbers won't be a big factor this week, as it is very straightforward if you miss a green and many of the champions here have actually lost strokes around the green.
Ideally we are hoping to find players with pop who don't have big misses, are strong mid-to-long iron players and who putt well on bent or have been rolling it well of late.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Kurt Kitayama ($11,600)
It's really no surprise that Kitayama was able to win here last year given how well his fit is for TPC Twin Cities. He is second to only Scottie Scheffler in SG: Ball Striking over the last 12 months, ranks sixth in total driving this season and excels in the 175-225 yard range. Putting is really the only thing you worry about with Kitayama, but on bentgrass he has been very solid ranking 26th in this field over the last 12 months. Kitayama has made his last 11 cuts with five top-25s over that stretch.
Keith Mitchell ($10,900)
Mitchell missed the cut at the Open Championship, but this is a completely different test, one that he has excelled at before scoring top-5 finishes at TPC Twin Cities in 2021 and 2022. Whenever a key is driving it long and straight, Mitchell is going to be a strong option. He has been one of the best off the tee for the last several years on Tour. Mitchell ranks sixth in this field in SG: Ball Striking over the last 12 months and fourth in proximity 175-200 yards. He can be a streaky putter, but he's fully capable of racking up red numbers at eighth in birdie average on the PGA Tour this season.
Tom Kim ($10,700)
Kim could not find the formula on the greens at Royal Birkdale that he had the week prior at the Renaissance Club when he broke a long winless drought, but he once again was exceptional on approach despite missing the cut by a couple shots. That elite approach play will no doubt give him plenty of opportunities this week. Kim ranks first in this field in SG: Approach this season and SG: Approach over their last 20 rounds. The 24-year-old has finished top 30 in both his prior attempts at the 3M Open and his driving accuracy should help him to avoid the major trouble off the tee.
The Middle Tier
Doug Ghim ($10,400)
I am high on ball strikers this week and Ghim is near the top of that list. He came out seventh in my model thanks to ranking top 15 in this field in a number of key stats like SG: Total last six months, proximity last 20 rounds, SG: Off-the-Tee last 12 months, SG: Ball Striking last 12 months and BOB% last six months. Ghim has played at TPC Twin Cities the last six years and racked up four top-30s during that stretch. The 30-year-old is rounding into form with seven finishes of T31 or better in his last eight starts.
Michael Brennan ($9,700)
Brennan is still just 24 years old and has extremely high upside, as we saw last fall when he won in Utah in his first PGA Tour start as a professional. The finishes in 2026 might not have been what many hoped for, but he was one of just a handful of players to make the cut in all four majors, which is no small feat and should tell you something about what kind of game he has. Brennan is an excellent fit for TPC Twin Cities as he ranks second in SG: Off-the-Tee, seventh in total driving and first in proximity outside of 200 yards this season.
Mac Meissner ($9,500)
Meissner is not flashy at all in any one part of the game, but all together it is quite impressive and why he graded out fifth in my model. He's been on a quiet run of form with four top-10s and eight T31s or better over his last 11 starts. Meissner ranks second in this field in SG: Total over the last 12 month in easy scoring conditions behind strong mid-to-long iron play and a reliable putter. It wouldn't surprise me to see this 27-year-old find the winner's circle for the first time on the PGA Tour soon.
The Long Shots
Keita Nakajima ($8,600)
I was on Nakajima last week at the Open, but I'm going right back despite the missed cut. He has impressed me since returning from injury with three top-20s, including a T3 over his last seven starts. Nakajima's combination of iron play and putting makes for a great formula on a course where you will need to make a lot of birdies. He ranks fourth in GIR percentage, second in proximity outside of 200 yards, third in par-3 average and 21st in SG: Putting. Nakajima is also second in this field in putting over their last 20 rounds.
Ben Kohles ($8,400)
Kohles is my No. 1 value play this week, and one of the best I have seen all season. He ranks sixth in this field in SG: Approach over the last six months, second in GIR percentage over the last six months, first in both Good Drive % and Distance from the Edge of the Fairway over the last 12 months and third in SG: Ball Striking over the last 12 months. Kohles putted very well en route to a T15 finish last time out at the ISCO Championship, his fourth straight top-25 finish on Tour. He's got solid history at TPC Twin Cities as well with top-25 finishes each of the last two years.
Max McGreevy ($8,200)
The data always eventually breaks through into results and this might be the week it finally does for McGreevy. He has just two top-25 finishes in 2026 with a best finish of T11 that came last week in Punta Cana, but 59th in SG: Total and 56th in scoring average is far better than where he sits in FedExCup points at 108th. McGreevy ranks 16th in this field in SG: Ball Striking over the last 12 months. His reliability off the tee and on approach lands him ahead of top dogs like Maverick McNealy and Hideki Matsuyama in my model.
Zac Blair ($8,200)
Blair comes into the week feeling confident about his game after back-to-back top-10s at the John Deere Classic and ISCO Championship. He now has seven top-20s across the PGA and Korn Ferry Tour this year. Blair popped in my model this week for his ability to avoid big numbers, very strong mid-to-long iron play and recent putting numbers. He would rank top 10 on the PGA Tour in SG: Approach and proximity this season if he had enough rounds to qualify. Blair was T13 at TPC Twin Cities back in 2022.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
The big decision that every player has to decide upon is whether or not they want to roster Scottie Scheffler ($15,800). At that price players will likely need a win for him to net out on value. Of course that's possible, but the odds are that one of the other 143 players will win this week, especially considering that Scheffler has never played here before and is coming off a stressful week at the Open Championship. Rostering Scheffler would leave you just $8,840 average for your last five players. That is still doable considering how strong I think the $8K range is, but it might make taking multiple $10K options a challenge, which is also a very strong range this week. Other players not mentioned above who had strong value in my model were Jackson Suber ($10,500), Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($9,300), Zach Bauchou ($8,500), A.J. Ewart ($8,000) and Joel Dahmen ($7,500).
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