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3M Open: Third-round start times pushed up to early morning Saturday to avoid afternoon storms

jace frederick, pioneer press
·3 min read

It will be an early, hectic morning Saturday at the 3M Open.

In an effort to dodge forecasted storms on Saturday afternoon, the PGA Tour announced third-round start times will be between 6:50-8:50 a.m. on Saturday, with golfers teeing off in threesomes off the first and 10th tees, with the leaders going off in the final tee time at No. 1.

That means all third-round action should be wrapped by about 2 p.m., barring any weather delays.

RACE TO THE CUT

There were a few impressive pushes to make the cut — which finished at 1-over par Friday — and advance to the weekend.

One of them was made by Cameron Champ. The defending 3M Open champion entered the week on a streak of five consecutive missed cuts and appeared to be well on his way to No. 6.

He was 5-over par with five holes to play Friday morning but birdied four of his final five holes — including each of his final three — to earn a Saturday tee time.

Chris Gotterup made a similar push, shooting 4 under over his final seven holes to get to even par for the tournament.

FAMILY RECIPE

Tony Finau played in The Open last weekend across the pond, then made the trip back for this week’s 3M Open. He’s also scheduled to play in next week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

No rest for the weary. How do you fight fatigue with that type of schedule?

“I tell people this all the time, a lot of people sleep, coffee — coffee is a huge thing,” Finau said.

But it’s not the thing. Finau’s secret weapon is his children.

“When you have five kids in your face, as soon as you see them jetlag’s all gone,” Finau said. “Maybe that’s a huge reason why I’m not feeling a lot of jetlag, I’ve got my family here, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

He finished up his second round Friday morning and didn’t plan on resting in the afternoon.

“I have no problem filling that time with the kids. I’ll be hanging out with them tonight,” he said. Friday. “I’m sure we’ll do a little bit of fishing here on the lake right in our backyard we’re staying at.”

WEAR SUNSCREEN

Finau and Emiliano Grillo are back in contention this weekend in Blaine — a familiar setting for them. The two both finished in a tie for third at this event in 2020.

Finau doesn’t remember much about specific shots or pin locations from that week. He just remembers his caddie. That weekend marked the first and only time his coach, Boyd Summerhays, even caddied for Finau.

“He forgot to put sunscreen on his legs and his legs were the color of (a red hat),” Finau said. “So that’s what I remember most, his legs were red the last couple rounds and he was quite embarrassed. Yeah, I remember more about that than I think the golf. That was quite funny.”

MISSED CUTS

Edina’s Mardy Fish — an American tennis star playing the 3M Open on a sponsor’s exemption — had a much better day Friday, shooting a 3-over 74 after firing an 81 on Thursday. Fish missed the cut at 13-over par. Other notable missed cuts included Brendan Steele, Sahith Theegala, Harry Higgs and Davis Riley.

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