This week on the PGA Tour, we have some golf in our backyard. The 3M Open in Blaine, MN. This tournament, although not the most enticing for the average golf fan, is one of our favorite weeks of the year. I especially enjoy the 3M Open because it’s our only chance to witness the pros in MN. The tournament itself has been getting stronger and stronger and luckily this year, we are seeing more top-end golfers join the field in need of FedEx Cup points.
TPC Blaine is a par 71 tipping out at 7400 yards which is about middle of the pack on tour. TPC Blaine is a very unique course with holes that surround itself with water as well as dogleg rights and lefts. This is fun because it demands the golfer to move his ball both ways to find success here. I also enjoy the 3M Open because of the amount of water balls we see. Last year it ranked #1 on tour with just over 300 splashes. Accuracy and ball-striking, as in many tournaments, are key and we tend to see players who win PGA Tour events lead in those categories that week.
The 10K Boys will be attending on Saturday in the 3M Stilly Party Deck. Feel free to stop by and talk some golf.
SammyStats10K Best Bets
I don’t typically do this, but this week I will be targeting a few of the top golfers in the field because they set themselves miles above the rest. I still see value in betting them top 20 along with outright winners due to the fact they should separate themselves fairly quickly.
Justin Thomas Top 20 (+170) Outright Winner (+2500)
Justin Thomas has statistically had the worst season of his PGA Career but I couldn’t live with myself seeing him win and passing on him especially this week with a weaker field. Yes, he’s been very poor, but we all know he has the talent to win this tournament by 5 shots. Sometimes these are the tournaments top-end players need to get back on track. We all know what the two-time major champion is capable of and at +2500, I will gladly take a stab at him this week.
Tony Finau Top 20 (-110) Outright Winner (+1550)
Tony Finau is the defending champ of the 3M Open as we saw him put on a clinic last year shooting 17 under par for the victory. We know Tony is a long ball hitter that is accurate off the tee and precise into greens. We watched him do this just a year ago here at TPC Blaine and there’s no reason not to target him again this week. Yes, Tony hasn’t had the best of runs lately but as the defending champ, we have no qualms backing him again this week.
Sungjae Im Top 20 (+105) Outright Winner (+1500)
Sungjae as many of you who have read the blogs know, is our bread and butter. Im has played relatively well recently and has had good finishes here at TPC Blaine in past years. He’s pretty decent off the tee, but what separates him is his lethal iron play and his creativity around the greens. Again, at 15/1 Odds and one of the best golfers in this field, we feel very confident backing him again this week on the PGA Tour.
Sepp Straka Top 20 (+140) Outright Winner (+2600)
Straka has been playing lovely these past few weeks and we are riding his hot streak. Sepp won the John Deere a few weeks ago and had an awesome runner-up finish at The Open last week. His game is in great form and has shown that with his incredible consistency lately. Straka has pretty much secured himself a spot on the European Ryder Cup team but needs to keep playing well for it to be a no-brainer. My eyes lit up seeing him at a whopping 26/1 odds to win for a golfer playing so strong. I feel very confident in Straka getting himself into contention pretty early here in the tournament.
Hideki Matsuyama Top 20 (+100) Outright Winner (+1750)
Lastly, we are backing Hideki who’s once again one of the top players in this field. Hideki hasn’t shown great success here at the 3M but has the talent no doubt to lift the trophy come Sunday. I think this is a great spot for Hideki and has had a few cracks at this course already giving him a little advantage over the rest of the field. In closing, Matsuyama has been a top 20 machine lately and it’s really only a matter of time until he gets back in the winning circle.
Enjoy the 3M Open & Always Wager Responsibly!