Matt Cooper previews the 3M Open final round and has a couple of Sunday selections to consider, one of which us just three shots behind the leader.
Golf betting tips: 3M Open final round
2pts win Ben Kohles at 7/1 (General)
1pt win Michael Brennan at 12/1 (General)
It has been quite the month for low scoring.
Last week’s Open witnessed three rounds of 62, the week before there was a 60 in the Evian Championship and this week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities has had a 62, a 59 and a 61.
The last of those, carded by newcomer to the professional ranks Jackson Koivun, could have been better because he thrashed a 300-yard drive on the par-4 16th to 12 feet and missed the eagle putt.
Undeterred he carved a 215-yard blow at the par-3 17th to 7 feet and holed that, then crunched hits of 330-yards and 233 yards to 13 feet at the par-5 18th for a closing eagle, his second in a back nine of 28 strokes.
The 21-year-old American is now 20-under 193 for the tournament, three strokes clear of his compatriot Ben Kohles and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo. Michael Brennan and Chandler Phillips are sharing fourth on 16-under with Denny McCarthy, Billy Horschel and Michael Kim tied for sixth on 15-under. The World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler played the back nine in 29 on Saturday to join the pack on 14-under.
For non-Americans the college golf system can appear bewildering. No-one seems to emerge from it without winning something. The fact that there are the Haskins, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Phil Mickelson Awards rather highlights the dizzying sense of there being an awful lot of pots and baubles available, but the fact Koivun became, in 2024, the first golfer to win all four is nonetheless impressive. Moreover he won three of them again this season before turning pro.
Last year he notched four top 15 finishes in a row on the PGA Tour. His final amateur showing was when T23 in last month’s US Open and he was T10 in the ISCO Championship at the start of July in his last start.
Suffice to say he’s very promising and this could easily be the first victory in a fine career.
“I’m feeling great,” he said after his dazzling 61. “Excited, ready for tomorrow. It’s definitely going to be a test tomorrow. I’m sure some of the pins will be tucked and we’ve got a lot of great players behind me, but just going to stick to my game plan and try to smile.”
He was able to keep his foot down during Saturday’s play and will need to do so again given the likelihood of more birdies in the final round.
He’s looking to put his time at Auburn University to good effect. “We were definitely put in some stressful situations at National Championships and just collegiate play,” he said. “Just trying to lean on those experiences to try to go out there and execute tomorrow.”
The difficulty of backing up a low score if often talked about. In the Open Lucas Herbert went 62-71-71, Sam Burns went 62-65-72, this week Kohles has gone 62-69-65 and Kim 59-70, but Ryan Fox went 62-68 to win the Open and Haeran Ryu went 60-71 to wrap up the Evian.
Koivun is a general 8/11 to get the job done. He might well do it and good luck to him. But a new pressure and the trickiness of holing a lot of putts over 36 holes grants appeal to backing a chaser to hunt him down.
BEN KOHLES has enjoyed a sparkling summer that was kicked off with victory in the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, an effort that included middle rounds of 65-64.
He added T29 in the Canadian Open, T23 in the US Open and T18 back on the second tier. Most recently he was T15 in the ISCO Championship, but before then he was T3 in the John Deere Classic when he went into the final round one shot back and was happy with his performance.
“I was in the same position,” he said of his current state and the John Deere. “I played really good in that final round in the last group, so I know kind of what it takes and feeling the same kind of things.
“I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing the last few months. I’ve obviously been playing really well and just going to keep the pedal down and try to make a bunch of birdies tomorrow.
“Looks like I’m a few back of the leader. Just going to take it one shot at a time, try to get some to go early and hopefully put a little pressure on him.”
His good run has come after switching putter, he finished top 25 in the last two years at Twin Cities and with that extra confidence can push the leader at the generally available 7/1.
We’ll also add MICHAEL BRENNAN who is already a winner in Minnesota, having carded 65-66-64-63 to win there on the Canadian Tour last year. It’s very nearly the anniversary of that triumph which was one of many low scoring efforts that vaulted him to a rare start on the PGA Tour which he won to transform his career path.
He’s only managed one top 10 since then, but he was one of only 14 golfers to make the cut in all four major championships this year. We’ll take him at 12/1.
Posted at 09:46 BST on 26/07/26
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling.
Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
