Akshay Bhatia lines up a shot on the 14th green during final round of Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Only two events remain before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which has led to a strong field assembling at this week’s 3M Open.
The top 70 players in the standings will qualify for the first leg of the playoffs, and many of those jockeying for position — or trying to improve their chances of qualifying for additional legs — are in Minnesota this week.
The event begins Thursday at TPC Twin Cities, and our golf experts preview the tournament while providing their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.
3M OPEN
Location: Blaine, Minn., July 25-28
Course: TPC Twin Cities (Par 71, 7,431 Yards)
Purse: $8.1M (Winner: $1.458M)
Defending Champion: Lee Hodges
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @3MOpen
PROP PICKS
–Taylor Pendrith to beat Keith Mitchell (-105 at DraftKings): Mitchell has dropped to 87th in the world rankings while missing three of his past four cuts, including at last week’s alternate-field Barracuda Championship. Pendrith, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory earlier this season, is coming off a T5 at the Barracuda, with his lone missed cut in his past 11 starts coming at the PGA Championship. Mitchell did tie for fifth here last year while Pendrith failed to make the weekend.
–Ben Kohles to beat Patrick Rodgers (+115 at BetRivers): We like the favorable payout on Kohles, who has posted a pair of top-20s while failing to make the cut just once in his past eight starts. Rodgers is coming off a T5 at the Barracuda but has been a bit more inconsistent as of late, failing to make the weekend twice while breaking the top 30 just two times in his past seven starts.
–Henrik Norlander top Nordic finisher (+105 at DraftKings): Ludvig Aberg is taking the week off, so we dove deeper into the three Nordic players in the field. Norlander is ranked 253rd in the world but did tie for 11th at the Barracuda for his third consecutive cut made. Meanwhile, Vincent Norrman (+140) missed the cut at The Open — the third consecutive start in which he has failed to make the weekend, including a WD at the Scottish Open. Tobias Jonsson, the third player in this prop at +400, is an amateur ranked 2,755th in the world. His last start in a professional tournament was a T59 at the 2023 Scandinavian Mixed event.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 35-44-1
BEST BETS
–Tony Finau (+1100 at DraftKings) won the event in 2022 and finished T7 last year. He is second at the book with 7 percent of the total bets backing him to win this week, and Finau has drawn the third-most money at 9 percent.
–Sam Burns (+1800) was in contention at The Open before an 80 on Sunday. He also finished T9 at the U.S. Open.
–Akshay Bhatia (+2200) missed the cut at Royal Troon, but that did follow consecutive top-five finishes on tour. He has been the most popular play at the book, leading the field with 14 percent of the money and 10 percent of the total bets placed on the winner.
–Luke Clanton (+2500) is just behind Bhatia with 11 percent of the money backing him. The rising Florida State junior has made the cut in all four events he has played in this year and is in the field on a sponsor exemption.
–Keegan Bradley (+3000) returns to the 3M Open for the first time since 2021. The recently named 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup captain sits 42nd in the FedEx Cup standings.
–Michael Thorbjornsen (+6500), who finished first in the PGA Tour University to earn his tour card, finished T2 at the John Deere Classic.
–Hodges (+6000) is attempting to become the first player to successfully defend a 3M Open title. He set the tournament scoring record of 260 in winning wire-to-wire by seven shots in 2023.
–Field Level Media
