2020 3M Open
What: The seventh event on the PGA Tour since competition resumed in mid-June following a three-month shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour halted competition after Round 1 of the Players Championship on March 12. The shutdown resulted in the cancellation of that event plus 10 others, including the British Open. The other three majors were rescheduled for later dates.
Where: TPC Twin Cities in Blaine
Purse: $6.6 million ($1.188 million to the winner)
Winning FedEx Cup points: 500
Course details: Par 71 and 7,114 yards
Cut: Low 65 scores and ties after 36 holes
Schedule: The 72-hole tournament begins Thursday morning.
Tickets: The PGA Tour announced in June that the 3M Open would be held without spectators.
How to watch: There are several options to keep up with the action in Blaine. PGA Tour Live, a pay app available through NBC Gold and Amazon Prime Video, will broadcast featured groups beginning at 6:45 a.m. Thursday and Friday and featured groups and featured holes beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Golf Channel will have coverage from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and noon-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ch. 4 will pick up coverage from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. PGA Tour Radio, available for free on pgatour.com or on the PGA Tour mobile app and also on Sirius Ch. 208 and XM Ch. 92, will provide live play-by-play from noon-5:30 p.m. each day.
On-air talent: The CBS team of Andrew Catalon and Nick Faldo will lead weekend hosting duties. Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo will provide on-course analysis along with Dottie Pepper and Trevor Immelman. Amanda Balionis will handle post-round interviews.
Last year: Matthew Wolff, a 20-year-old sponsor exemption making his fourth PGA Tour start and third as a professional, sank a 26-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to outlast Bryson DeChambeau and fellow phenom Collin Morikawa by a stroke. Wolff's putt put him at 21 under for the week in the first-ever 3M Open, tops among the 85 players who made the 36-hole cut at 3 under.
Players to watch in 2020: The 156-player field features six players in the top 30 in the world: Dustin Johnson (4), Brooks Koepka (6), Tommy Fleetwood (12), Tony Finau (19), Paul Casey (25) and Bernd Wiesberger (29). Major champions in the field include Stewart Cink, Jason Dufner, Lucas Glover, Charl Schwartzel and Tom Lehman.
Local connections: Wayzata's Tim Herron, former Gophers golfers Erik van Rooyen and Lehman and Angus Flanagan, a Gophers junior and third-team All-America last season, all received sponsor exemptions. Van Rooyen, a 30-year-old South Africa native, is the 42nd-ranked player in the world. Lehman, 61, oversaw course revisions before last year's inaugural event and finished tied for 58th after receiving a special invitation. Spring Lake Park graduate and former Winona State golfer Troy Merritt is back after tying for seventh last summer. Fargo's Tom Hoge, a two-time Minnesota State Amateur champ, returns as well after finishing tied for 23rd a year ago.
BRIAN STENSAAS
