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The 3M Open is one of the newer tournaments on the PGA schedule having only made its debut in 2020. That edition was won by Matthew Wolff, with Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa finishing runner-up. That’s some front three. Morikawa has two majors, DeChambeau one and Wolff was runner-up in the 2020 US Open. Last year it was a rather less celebrated leaderboard as Michael Thompson scored a two-shot victory over Adam Long although that event came during a disrupted and rejigged schedule following the break in the season for COVID. There were some common threads though. Despite the Arnold Palmer design being altered by Minnesota native and 1996 Open champ Tom Lehman, scoring was low. Wolff won with 21-under and Thompson with 19-under. The course, TPC Twin Cities, was also used on the Champions Tour and winning scores of 20-under or lower were commonplace. Featuring Bentgrass greens, the par 71 measures in at 7,468 yards. That looks fairly lengthy but balls will fly far with temperatures set to hit 100 degrees. A number of those who competed in the Open Championship at Royal St George’s make the trip back over the Atlantic. They include Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia. Angles to consider 1/ Strokes Gained: Tee to Green 2019 winner Wolff ranked 1st in Strokes Gained: TTG in 2019 while runner-up Morikawa was 2nd in that same category. It also proved the most reliable indicator in 2020. Thompson’s putter was hot but the best recipe for success is setting up lots of chances. 2/ Par 4 Performance Wolff played the Par 4s in 12-under in 2019, ranking joint 1st for the week. Pleasingly, that pattern repeated in 2020 as Thompson ranked joint 1st so the two winners here have both topped the Par 4 stats. It’s a par 71 with one more Par 4 than usual so it all makes sense. 3/ Birdie Average The two editions so far (along with those Champions Tour events) paint a pretty clear picture: the birdie count needs to be high. Wolff poured in 26 birdies (T1) while Thompson racked up 22. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Emiliano Grillo The Argentine ranks 1st for Par 4 Performance this season while he’s 28th for Birdie Average and 45th for SG: Tee To Green. As well as those strong positions in the key stats, he has two very obvious other plus points. Grillo was 12th in last week’s Open Championship while he took third place in this event last July. Doug Ghim Ghim, who is good friends with Collin Morikawa, ranks in the top 33 for all those three above angles. The American is 11th for Par 4 Performance, 25th SG: Tee To Green and 33rd for Birdie Average. Those skills helped him finish 18th here last year while he was also 18th in his most recent start, the John Deere Classic. Cameron Tringale Like Grillo, Tringale also finished third here last year after posting 42nd in the inaugural edition. He’s in good form after 14th in the Rocket Mortgage and 26th at Royal St George’s last week. As for fitting the profile, he leaps out thanks to 15th for Par 4s, 23rd for Birdie Average and 47th Tee To Green. Tips 0-3; -6.00pts 1pt e.w. Emiliano Grillo at 33/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc 1pt e.w. Doug Ghim at 45/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc 1pt e.w. Cameron Tringale at 35/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) 16th
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