The 3M Power Rankings: The 10 Best Golfers at TPC Twin Cities

Last week: Although our number one and two picks bombed, our number three (Xander Schauffele) came through for our 12th outright win of the year.

This week, the PGA Tour returns to home soil in Minnesota for the 3M Open which is in its fourth year hosting a tournament directly after The (British) Open Championship

There are a handful of big-name favorites playing this week after playing in last week’s Open Championship.  The big question of the week? Can they bounce back from an emotional and tasking week on a tough Troon golf course, let alone the jet lag back to the States? I’m thinking one of them can.

The 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities Power Rankings

10. Rico Hoey +6000

Here’s a guy who has very quietly played well for the past month.  He finished T-6 at the Rocket Mortgage, T-26 at the John Deere lost in a playoff at the ISCO, and last week he finished T-8 at the Barracuda. He has not played this event which is a negative, but he has some decent stats. He’s 9th in SG off the tee, 30th in GIR, and a decent 52nd in scoring average.

9. Keith Mitchell +3000

This Georgia Bulldog has been up and down this season. Sandwiched in between three missed cuts are a T-18 at the John Deere and a T-10 at the Canadian Open. He’s got seven other Top 20s but three more missed cuts. In this event, he has two Top 5s including last year. He’s super accurate but can’t putt. He is ranked 4th in SG off the tee, 6th in SG on approach, and 6th in GIR. The bad news is that he’s ranked in the 100s 21 times in putting stats.

8. Taylor Pendrith +3500

The Byron Nelson winner has had a good, consistent season. He has eight Top 20s on the year and has finished T33 or better in five of his last six events including a T-5 last week at the Barracuda. He’s only played TPC Twin Cities once, and he missed the cut. This guy can putt. He ranks 12th in SG putting and 9th in putting average.

7. Erik van Rooyen +4000

EVR is on our list for really one good reason. He attended the University of Minnesota so this will be somewhat of a home game for the South African. Although he’s played here three times, his best finish is only a T-58. He has four Top 10s this year and comes into the event with a T-39 and a T-6 in his last two tournaments. He ranks 20th in total SG, 21st in SG off the tee, 12th in GIR, and 24th in SG putting.

6. Tom Hoge +3000

Hoge is the first player on our last who played last week at The Open. He did not have a trip overseas finishing T-72 at The Open and missing the cut at The Scottish Open. His last US event was the Travelers where he contended and finished T-3. Hoge finished T-20 here last year and T-4 in 2022. He’s one of the tour’s best ball strikers. He’s ranked second in SG on approach and also ranks T-14 in putting average

5. JT Poston +3000

JT played in The Open last week and missed the cut which is the bad news. The good news is that he returned early so perhaps jet lag has worn off. He’s had success here finishing T-2 last year and T-11 in 2022. He’s another player known for his putting. He ranks 26th in putting average and 23rd in birdie average.

4. Adam Hadwin +4000

I keep waiting for Hadwin to join his fellow Canadians Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith with a Tour win this year. Like Poston, he played and missed the cut last week at Troon. He has four Top 6s this year with his last coming at Memorial in May. He has had success in this event with a T-6 in 2021 and a solo fourth in 2019. Hadwin struggles with his ball striking but is a reasonably good putter. He ranks in the Top 50 in nine putting categories including first in round 4 putts per round.

3. Emiliano Grillo +5000

Grillo made the overseas trip where he missed the cut at The Scottish Open and finished T-43 at The Open. Thus far, he’s had a relatively disappointing season with no wins and only four Top 20s. He’s not had a great year statistically either. His best rankings are a 52nd ranking in driving accuracy and a 58 in SG on approach; however, he has had success at this event. He has three Top 10s in four tries including a T-10 last year, a T-2 in 2022, and a T-3 in 2020.  

2. Cam Davis +3300

Davis came through for us with a big win at the Rocket Mortgage. He played decently at The Scottish Open finishing T-26. He took last week off. He has a good track record at the 3M. He finished T-10 last year, T-16 in 2022, and T-12 in 2020. We are banking on that horse for course theory this week.

1. Tony Finau +1000

I don’t like playing favorites, and I don’t like jet-lagged players.  Yet, I don’t see any clear favorites other than Finau. It’s hard to believe he has not won this year. Oh sure, he’s contended. He has five Top 10s, four of those Top Six or better. I like the fact that he’s bounced back after The Open at this event. He won in 2022 and finished T-7 last year. He also finished T-3 in 2020. I think this is the week he finally breaks out with his first win of the year.

Longshot Plays at The 3M Open

With a rather light field this week, there are a host of interesting longshots to play for a dollar or two.

Mac Meissner +5500

Meissner comes into this week in good form. He finished last week solo fourth and finished T-16 at ISCO and T-20 at John Deere. This is his first time playing in this event. He ranks a surprising 32nd in total SG and 21st in scoring average.

Lee Hodges +6000

Hodges is the defending champion. He also finished T-16 in 2022 so he clearly plays well here. His best finish this year is T-12; he’s done that three times. He ranks 34th in driving accuracy and 45 in SG on approach.

Max Greyserman +6600

Here’s another guy I’m playing with somewhat of a hot hand. In his last five events, he’s finished T-13, T-21, T-26, T-31, and T-21.  This will be his first time playing in this event. He ranks 14th in driving distance and 33rd in SG putting.

Neal Shipley +8000

The reigning US Amateur champ has had a successful pro debut thus far. He finished T-20 at the Rocket Mortgage and T-6 at the ISCO. Last week, he finished T-40 at the Barracuda. I think this Ohio State Buckeye could pull off a major upset this week. (Note, the Tour has not posted his season rankings).

Patrick Fishburn +8000

Like Greyserman, I’m trying to play a guy who’s relatively obscure but playing well. Last week, he finished solo third at the Barracuda. The week prior, he finished solo 15th at ISCO. Before that, he finished T-25 or better in four of his last seven events. He ranks sixth in SG off the tee, 13th in total driving, ninth in GIR, and 11th in scrambling. Who knew?

Zac Blair +15000

After a disappointing playoff loss to Harry Hall at the ISCO, Blair missed the cut last week. He’s had a decent summer finishing T-24 at The Canadian Open and T-26 at The US Open prior to that playoff loss. I think he will bounce back this week. A year ago, he finished T-13 here.

Troy Merritt +20000

Little known fact about Merritt. He played college golf for Winona State University for two years.  Where’s Winona State? Minnesota! We’ve had Merritt on our longshot list before. He had the lead at one point at the Rocket Mortgage before finishing T-17.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.