Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

PGA Tour Brunch

Finau Storms Back at 3M Open

by

BLAINE – Beginning the final round five strokes off the lead, Tony Finau earned his third PGA Tour title by setting the largest final-round comeback by a winner in 3M Open history.

Sungjae Im earned his third career runner-up finish, while Emiliano Grillo collected his sixth on Tour.

Scott Piercy, who held at least a share of the lead after each of the first three rounds, played the final round 5-over (76) and finished T-4.

Defending champion Cameron Champ finishes T-16 in his bid to become tournament’s first repeat winner.

TPC Twin Cities now has the distinction of the most balls in the water on TOUR this season with (303).

3M Open | Final Leaderboard

Tony Finau 67-68-65-67—267 (-17)

Sungjae Im 65-70-67-68—270 (-14)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65-67-71—270 (-14)

James Hahn 69-70-67-65—271 (-13)

Tom Hoge 67-68-66-70—271 (-13)

Scott Piercy 65-64-66-76—271 (-13)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Piercy Leads at Wet & Windy 3M Open

by

BLAINE – Scott Piercy set a 3M Open 54-hole tournament record in his bid for fifth career PGA Tour win and first individual stroke-play title since the 2015 Barbasol Championship.

Following his T-2 at the John Deere Classic three weeks ago, Emiliano Grillo is chasing his second Tour title and first since 2015

With one bogey through 54 holes (No. 1/R2), Doug Ghim’s score of (200) marked his lowest 54-hole score on Tour

Two years removed from his T-3 finish at the 3M Open, Tony Finau is in position for third career Tour title but is five strokes off the lead.

PGA TOUR rookie Greyson Sigg birdied seven of his last 11 holes for a 7-under (64) in bid for first title (36th start).

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 54 Holes

Scott Piercy 65-64-66—195 (-18)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65-67—199 (-14)

Doug Ghim 67-68-65—200 (-13)

Tony Finau 67-68-65—200 (-13)

Tom Hoge 67-68-66—201 (-12)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Note: With the threat of severe weather, third-round tee times were moved-up and featured threesomes off tee Nos. 1 and 10 from 6:50 – 9:02am (local). Due to inclement weather, the third round was suspended from 10:57am until 5:35pm (6 hours, 38 minutes). High temps of 85-degrees. Winds E/SE 10-15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. The round was completed.

Piercy Putts Way to 3M Open Lead

by

BLAINE – Scott Piercy’s 36-hole (129) total is one stroke shy of his career-best on Tour and one stroke shy of the tournament record which was enough to provide him with a three-stroke lead heading into the third round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Emiliano Grillo shoot (65) on Friday to reach 10-under through 36 holes, marking his eighth round of (65) or better this season. In 2020, Grillo shot 64-65 on the weekend to finish T-3 at the 3M Open.

England’s Callum Tarren posted a (63) (-8) in the second round of the 3M Open, bettering his lowest 18-hole score on Tour by two stokes (65), four times, most recently R-3/2022 John Deere Classic).

The top three players on the leaderboard represent different countries: USA, Argentina, England.

Robert Streb is the only player without a bogey through 36 holes

This weekend marks first time in tournament history that the 36-hole cut is not under par (2019 (-3), 2020 (-2), 2021 (-2).

Defending champion Cameron Champ birdied four of his last five holes to make the cut on the number.

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 36 Holes

Scott Piercy 65-64 – 129 (-13)

Emiliano Grillo 67-65 – 132 (-10)

Callum Tarren 71-63 – 134 (-8)

Five players – 135 (-7)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Two Tied for Lead at 3M Open

by

Scott Piercy, Sungai Im Tied After 18 Holes at TPC Twin Cities

BLAINE – Scott Piercy’s 6-under (65) marked his lowest round of the season and he holds his ninth first-round lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour with Sungjae Im who recorded his third career 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour with his opening round (65).

At T-3, the last time Tony Finau was inside top-three of the leaderboard after an opening round on Tour was the 2020 3M Open (finished: T-3).

Defending champion Cameron Champ (T-106) and 2020 champion Michael Thompson (T-51) seek to become the tournament’s first repeat winner.

First-round scoring average of 72.78 marks the highest scoring average in 13 rounds of 3M Open history.

Former professional tennis player and Minnesota native Mardy Fish opened with 10-over (81) in his PGA Tour debut.

Robert Garrigus (fatigue) withdrew during round one and Hideki Matsuyama (sore wrist) and D.A. Points WD after round one of the 3M Open.

Leaderboard at 3M Open | After 18 Holes

Scott Piercy 65 (-6)

Sungjae Im 65 (-6)

Five Players 67 (-4)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: 3M Open Preview

by

BLAINE – The 3M Open, which is being contested for the fourth time since its inception in 2019 and is the 42nd of 44 events during the FedEx Cup regular season. With only three weeks remaining until the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the 3M Open provides an opportunity for players looking to secure one of the 125 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Cameron Champ returns to the 3M Open to defend his title. Champ is in his fourth season on the PGA Tour and has won in each of his first three seasons (2018 Sanderson Farms Championship, 2019 Fortinet Championship, 2021 3M Open). With a win, he would become the fourth player with a win in each of the last four seasons (including the current season), joining Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. Four defending champions have won this season, the most in a season since 2016-17 (4).

Four PGA Tour rookies are currently in the Top 40 of the FedExCup standings and two of them are in the field this week: Davis Riley (No. 23 in the FedExCup standings) and Sahith Theegala (No. 38). The Rookie of the Year as voted on by PGA Tour membership at the end of the season will receive the Arnold Palmer Award.

World No. 40 Joohyung Kim, competing on a sponsor exemption, joined the PGA Tour this week as a Special Temporary Member. A native of South Korea, Kim is now eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season as he attempts to earn his Tour card for the 2022-23 season. To earn full status for the 2022-23 season, Kim must earn as many or more non-member FedEx Cup points as the final eligible player from the 2021-22 FedEx Cup standings to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Kim currently has 296 points, which would fall between Nos. 131 and 132 in the standings.

Former professional tennis player and Edina, Minnesota, native Mardy Fish, winner of six ATP Tour titles and silver medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, is competing on a sponsor exemption. Fish is making his PGA Tour debut and is the first professional athlete from another sport to receive a sponsor exemption since former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo at the 2019 Fortinet Championship. Romo has made four starts on TOUR and missed the cut in each of them. Fish defeated Romo in a playoff to win the celebrity competition at the 2022 ClubCorp Classic on PGA Tour Champions and has won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions celebrity tournament three times.

When Brendon de Jonge WD from the 3M Open, he was not replaced as there were no more alternates available to play.

Players to successfully defend a title this season:

  • Rory McIlroy RBC Canadian Open
  • K.H. Lee AT&T Byron Nelson
  • Sam Burns Valspar Championship
  • Viktor Hovland World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba

2021 Masters Tournament champion Hideki Matsuyama is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Matsuyama has won twice on Tour this season (ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, Sony Open in Hawaii) and with a victory, would become the fifth player to win three times this season.

 

Cameron Smith Takes The Open

by

McIlroy’s Open Champ Dreams Crushed at St. Andrews

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Making his 25th major championship appearance, Cameron Smith defeated Cameron Young by one stroke to win the 150th Open Championship. It marked his sixth win on Tour and first major championship title.

At 20-under, Smith equals the lowest score in relation to par in major championship history. With a 6-under (30) (including five straight birdies on Nos. 10-14), Smith carded the lowest closing nine-hole score by a winner in Open Championship history.

Smith’s (268) marks the lowest winning score by a champion at St. Andrews (269, Tiger Woods, 2000) while he became the fifth Australian to win The Open and first since Greg Norman in 1993. He joined Peter Thomson(1955) and Kel Nagle (1960) as Australian winners at St. Andrews.

Smith also joined Jack Nicklaus (1978) as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open in the same year.

This season marks the first time since the Masters Tournament began in 1934 that all four majors were won by players under the age of 30.

PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young’s runner-up finish is the best by a player in his Open debut at St. Andrews since Tony Lema won in 1964.

The Open | Final Leaderboard

Cameron Smith 67-64-73-64—268 (-20)

Cameron Young 64-69-71-65—269 (-19)

Rory McIlroy 66-68-66-70—270 (-18)

Tommy Fleetwood 72-69-66-67—274 (-14)

Viktor Hovland 68-66-66-74—274 (-14)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

McIlroy, Hovland Share Open Lead

by

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – At 16-under, Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy share the lead heading into the final round of The Open Championship of 2022. Among Open Championships contested at St. Andrews, Hovland and McIlroy’s opening 54-hole score (200) is second only to Nick Faldo’s (199) total in 1990.

McIlroy is in search of his fifth major championship victory and first since winning the 2014 PGA Championship. He is 9-for-15 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory, including a 4-for-5 mark in majors.

Hovland is seeking his fourth PGA Tour victory and is 2-for-2 in converting a 54-hole lead/co-lead to victory. With a victory, he would become Norway’s first major championship winner.

With a win, McIlroy would collect his 22nd victory and move to T-28 on the PGA Tour’s all-time wins list.

Reigning Masters Tournament winner Scottie Scheffler (T-5) and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick (T-8) are among six major championship winners in the Top 12 players on the 54-hole leaderboard.

First-round leader Cameron Young (T-3) trails by four strokes in bid to become the 11th player to win The Open Championship in debut appearance. The most recent was Collin Morikawa last year).

Second-round leader Cameron Smith (T-3) trails by four following a third-round 1-over (73). He’s hoping to join Jack Nicklaus (1978) as the only players to win THE PLAYERS Championship and The Open Championship in the same year.

The Open Leaderboard | After 54 Holes

Viktor Hovland 68-66-66—200 (-16)

Rory McIlroy 66-68-66—200 (-16)

Cameron Young 64-69-71—204 (-12)

Cameron Smith 67-64-73—204 (-12)

Si Woo Kim 69-69-67—205 (-11)

Scottie Scheffler 68-68-69—205 (-11)

Full Leaderboard: (The Open)

Great Weekend Ahead at St Andrews

by

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith’s total of (131) tied the fourth-lowest opening 36-hole score in Open Championship history and is the lowest in The Open at St. Andrews. With a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Cameron Young, Smith holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the second time in a major championship (2020 Masters/shared 36-hole lead with four others before finishing T-2) and the fourth time in an individual stroke-play event on Tour. He is 1-for-3 in converting.

Making his 90th major championship start, three-time Open Championship winner Tiger Woods missed the cut for the fourth time in 22 starts at The Open. Woods shot (153) which is his highest 36-hole score at The Open and third-highest in a major championship.

Rory McIlroy trails by three strokes in bid for fifth major championship win and first since winning the 2014 PGA Championship.

At T-3, Viktor Hovland holds his best 36-hole position in a major championship. His previous best was T-17.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler sits T-6, the 16th time in last 19 major championship rounds inside the Top 10.

Four of six amateurs in the field made the cut: Barclay Brown, Filippo Celli, Sam Bairstow and Aaron Jarvis.

Collin Morikawa becomes the first defending champion to miss the cut at The Open since Darren Clarke in 2012 and all four past champions at St. Andrews missed the cut: Zach Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen, Tiger Woods and John Daly.

The Open Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

Cameron Smith 67-64—131 (-13)

Cameron Young 64-69—133 (-11)

Rory McIlroy 66-68—134 (-10)

Viktor Hovland 68-66—134 (-10)

Dustin Johnson 68-67—135 (-9)

Full Leaderboard: (The Open)

Cameron Young Leads The Open (R-1)

by

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – St. Andrews is hosting the 150th edition of The Open, marking the 30th time the championship has been contested at The Old Course. After an 8-under (64) in his Open Championship debut, PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young leads by two over Rory McIlroy.

Young holds his third first-round lead/co-lead of the season, tied with McIlroy for most on Tour. McIlroy’s (66) is his best opening round at The Open since carding the same score en route to winning at Hoylake in 2014.

Making his 90th major championship start, three-time Open Championship winner Tiger Woods equals the highest opening round score in his 22 starts at the event.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler sits T-5, marking the 15th time in the last 18 major championship rounds he has been inside the Top 10 on the leaderboard.

Embed from Getty Images

Genesis Scottish Open champion Xander Schauffele posted a 3-under (69) in bid to become the first player since McIlroy in 2014 to follow a win on the Tour with a major championship victory the following week.

The 2021 Open champion Collin Morikawa opened with an even-par (72) in bid to become the first player to successfully defend at The Open since Padraig Harrington in 2008.

The first-round scores for past champions at St. Andrews: Louis Oosthuizen(71), Zach Johnson (72), John Daly (73), Woods (78).

Justin Rose (back injury) and Erik Van Rooyen (neck injury) withdrew prior to the start of the first round and were replaced by Rikuya Hoshino and Aaron Rai, respectively. Both the last-minute alternates opened with a 3-over (75).

The Open Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

Cameron Young 64 (-8)

Rory McIlroy 66 (-6)

Cameron Smith 67 (-5)

Robert Dinwiddie 67 (-5)

 

PGA Tour: The Barracuda Preview

by

TRUCKEE – The Barracuda Championship field, like last week’s Barbasol Championship, is comprised of players from both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. There are 50 places available for the top players from the DP World Tour priority ranking. The Barracuda Championship winner will receive benefits on each Tour:

  • FedExCup points: 300
  • DP World Tour Rankings points: 710
  • PGA TOUR exemption (for current PGA TOUR members): thru 2024
  • PGA TOUR exemption (for non-members): thru 2022-23
  • DP World Tour exemption: thru 2024

The last six winners of the Barracuda Championship were first-time PGA TOUR winners, the longest active streak on TOUR (2016/Greg Chalmers, 2017/Chris Stroud, 2018/Andrew Putnam, 2019/Collin Morikawa, 2020/Richy Werenski, 2021/Erik van Rooyen).

Four weeks remain in the FedEx Cup Regular Season, with the Barracuda Championship providing an opportunity for players to make a run towards one of the 125 spots in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Six players have qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in each season since the inception in 2007, including Charley Hoffman, who is currently outside the top 125 at No. 173 in the FedEx Cup standings.

The Barracuda Championship | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Old Greenwood at the Tahoe Mountain Club, Truckee, CA

YARDS/PAR: 7,480 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECT: Jack Nicklaus

PRIZE Money – Purse: $3,600,000/$666,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Erik van Rooyen

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 300

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @CudaChamp

TV COVERAGE: All four rounds (July 14-17) are scheduled for TV coverage from 6:00pm to 9:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel.

HOW to WATCH: (link)