3M Open betting tips: Top-heavy Twin Cities field
Odds and preview for this week’s PGA Tour event
The PGA Tour rolls into the TCP Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, this week and we examine the outright winner odds in our 3M Open betting tips.
Played over four days, the 3M Open sees 156 players fighting to earn enough FedEx Cup points to qualify for a trip to East Lake and a shot at a $15 million payday. The Ryder Cup qualification period is also nearing an end.
Michael Thompson will return to defend his title at the par 71, 7,431-yard course, with Bentgrass greens, which invariably sees consistently low scores, despite 27 water hazards (in play on 14 holes) and 72 bunkers.
There has been plenty of rain in the area and the greens will play soft, so this will be a test of who can keep out of trouble off the tee and it should suit the confident pin-seekers from the fairway.
Market leaders
Dustin Johnson leads a top-heavy field which is split into elites and those playing for their Tour card.
Johnson heads the market at 13/2, coming off the back of an eighth-place, seven-under finish at the Open Championship.
Johnson played last year but withdrew because of back spasms after the first round. He also sat out the Byron Nelson in May with knee discomfort, but looked in great shape at Royal St George’s.
Louis Oosthuizen was the 54-hole leader for the second straight major but closed with a one-over 71 at the Open Championship to finish T3 with John Rahm. It marked the ninth time he has finished either runner-up or third at a major.
The nearly man is an excellent ball-striker and will want to prove a point. He finished T2 at the PGA Championship in May, was second at the US Open and T3 at The Open.
In a field that is not deep, Oosthuizen’s 3M Open odds of 12/1 will look big if he gets over his latest major disappointment.
Tony Finau appeared to be regaining his form at the Open Championship
Having made the cut at the Open Championship for the 15th time in his last 17 majors, Tony Finau showed he is still battling hard for a place on Steve Stricker’s Ryder Cup team.
He started the 2021 season in fine fashion with four top-five finishes in his first five starts, including a runner-up finish at the Genesis Invitational in February.
Though he hit a sticky patch after the Genesis, recording just two top-10 finishes, only a third-day wobble at Royal St George’s prevented him challenging for the Claret Jug.
Finau’s ball-striking was excellent for the most part and a resurgence of form may not be far away. He is 12/1 to win at TPC Twin Cities.
The 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed never got on a sustained run at the Open Championship – in the first round he had four bogeys and two birdies in his first 14 holes. Knowing he needed to go low in the second round, the winner of the Farmers Insurance Open made two bogeys in his first five holes and couldn’t rally.
He missed the cut, but it is telling that he had top-10 finishes in three of the last four events after missing the cut, and he is 16/1 to do what he did at the Farmers – win after missing the cut in his previous outing.
At larger odds
Bubba Watson has been consistent without winning this year. He has six top-20 finishes in his last 10 outings, including a T6 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last time.
The two-time major champion missed the Open after having direct exposure to someone who tested positive for Covid-19, meaning the 25/1 shot is fresh and rested.
Next on the list in our 3M Open betting tips is Cameron Davis. The 2017 Australian Open winner broke his PGA Tour duck with victory in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, hitting every fairway and green in regulation to win in a play-off.
The Australian is an elegant ball striker and his recent consistency around the greens make him a 30/1 shot.
Keegan Bradley is one of the best ball-strikers in the game. His accuracy off the tee, combined with his driving distance, should put him in with a chance of making a low score.
His putting has improved a little in recent months, as was evident when runner-up at the Valspar Championship and when T4 in New Orleans, and Bradley’s 3M Open odds are 40/1.
Elsewhere
Ryan Moore is on the list due to his driving accuracy percentage, which is second only to Brandon Todd at 73.29.
We highlighted him for the John Deere Classic after he showed his game was coming together at the Travelers Championship – and he duly finished runner-up on a course that is comparable to TPC Twin Cities.
This time, in a slightly deeper field, Moore can be included in 3M Open betting tips at 50/1.
Charl Schwartzel is one of those players in the field who has gained more than 1.5 strokes per round on the field at TPC Twin Cities.
He can run a little hot and cold with his putter, but this course plays to his approach-play strengths and he is an each-way price at 50/1.
Bo Hoag, a good ball striker with his irons, also comes into consideration at odds of 80/1.
He has had a solid run in recent weeks and was T11 at the Barbasol Classic with only a last-day 69 a somewhat ho-hum effort after his first three days’ good work, as he finished on 18-under.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
