The FedEx Cup playoffs are looming large with under a month to go until the PGA Tour’s postseason kicks off and there are plenty of players at the 3M Open that will be looking to play their way into the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Like during the playoffs themselves, this time of the year can be good for looking for those players around the bubble of the top 125 that will have extra motivation for a big finish.
Featured Groups for the @3MOpen:
Tony Finau
Jason Day
Davis RileyRickie Fowler
Ryan Palmer
Martin LairdCameron Champ
Michael Thompson
Chez ReavieHideki Matsuyama
Tom Hoge
Sungjae ImJ.T. Poston
Cam Davis
Adam LongStewart Cink
Brendon Todd
Lucas Glover— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 19, 2022
Callum Tarren is an intriguing name this week. He has shown some good form in recent weeks, even if he has been let down with some Sunday performances. But he appears to be getting more and more used to playing at this level and at 100/1 he is worth a look. He sits at 144th in the FedEx Cup standings and has every chance of forcing his way into the season-ending events with a couple of strong finishes these next two weeks. This is a fairly new tournament but all three occasions have seen winners at 100/1 or more and this may be no different.
He has been mentioned a lot in these write ups this year, and we are still waiting on him to really pull it out the bag, but Rickie Fowler continues to look impressive in spells. At the Scottish Open two weeks ago he looked like the old Fowler for three rounds before a blow up on Sunday. He has switched golf balls and gone back to his old faithful putter and it could well spark something here. At his best he would be favourite here this week in a relatively weak field, so 60/1 looks a nice price if you believe he can back up the form shown across the Atlantic.
From the court to the course 🎾⛳
Minnesota native and 6-time @ATPTour winner @MardyFish will tee it up this week as a sponsor exemption @3MOpen. pic.twitter.com/sGNRH1RhUo
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 19, 2022
With only three previous editions of this tournament, we do not have a lot of course form to go on, but Cameron Tringale perhaps has the best of anyone without a win. 16th last year followed up a third the year before and there is no doubt he is in better form now than he was on either of those events. He sits at 28/1 and looks to be great value. It was two Camerons at St Andrews last week so maybe he can follow them in with a win in Minnesota.
Sahith Theegala went so close when losing out to Xander Schauffele with a double bogey on the last three weeks ago, but he has been so impressive. He had a good showing at the Open to back up a really good run of form and he can go one further this time and pick up his first win. 22/1 makes him joint fourth favourite. His form has been good but that is probably a good indication of the strength of the field here. He has a great all round game and has every chance this week.
Couple #TheOpen stat odds and ends:
Sahith Theegala has missed only 2 GIR this week
Scottie Scheffler hit all 18 GIR today for the first time in his major championship career
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 15, 2022
Patton Kizzire is a two time winner on tour and sitting at 120th in the FedEx Cup standings, he needs a good week here. He has a decent, if not great record around this track but his game really should suit things here. Another 100/1 shot, he could be good value for a strong finish.
Hideki Matsuyama and Tony Finau start as joint favourites at 16/1. Both have had some good weeks of late but not the sort of weeks that would make you want to back either as a favourite. Finau has a good record here and maybe offers more appeal, but neither would fill you with confidence at a short price. They are, of course, classy players that can find form very quickly. But with the short history here providing wins for big outsiders and their own lack of great form, it is maybe worth looking further down the odds.
This field is missing a lot of the marquee names as many take a break following the Open Championship, but there is a lot to play for and that creates its own drama. We have seen some big swings on Sunday in this event so no lead will be safe. It has every chance of being a very entertaining tournament, even if the Rory McIlroys and Scottie Schefflers are not there.
