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3M Open enters 5th year at TPC Twin Cities
The 3M Open is entering Year 5 at TPC Twin Cities, and Tournament Director Mike Welch talked Monday at Media Day about the 2023 event.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The 3M Open will host as many as 156 of the top PGA Tour players in the world next month at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, and there will also be several big names that won’t be making the trek to Minnesota.
The state’s annual PGA Tour stop is July 24-30, one week after the British Open and also the same week that the Minnesota Vikings start training camp. You won’t see names like Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and inaugural champion Matthew Wolff.
They’ve all left the PGA for the LIV Tour, backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. As of now, they’re not eligible for PGA events like the 3M Open. That could change sooner rather than later.
The PGA, LIV and DP World Tours recently announced a merger for all three to form one larger entity. It’s ruffled feathers for players on the PGA, who stuck by the tour while others left to chase money. To this point, there remains questions on what will happen going forward, and how it could affect the 3M Open is unknown.
"I know nothing more than we did weeks ago. They are getting information sporadically, and we’re the same way. To be perfectly blunt, we are so laser-focused about what’s happening in five weeks that we really don’t have time to think about it right now," 3M Open Tournament Director Mike Welch said Monday. "What we do know is that in a world where golf was fractured, there might be a point where it comes back together. We’re not worried about that until July 31, right now we’ve got a tournament to think about."
What we also know is that defending champion Tony Finau will be at TPC Twin Cities, and likely the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 14 in the World Golf Rankings. Past champions Michael Thompson and Cameron Champ are also playing.
Finau didn’t have a lot to say when asked about the future relationship between the PGA and LIV Tours.
"There’s still a lot of uncertainty, nothing has really been done yet. I know what the schedule looks like for me this summer, my focus is still on playing golf and trying to win the FedEx Cup. It’s exciting to have a chance to win the FedEx Cup at the end of the year," Finau said.
The PGA, 3M Open and TPC Twin Cities are in Year five of a seven-year contract. The expectation from tournament officials is that relationship will continue long-term, and Blaine will remain a future PGA stop. When LIV players might be eligible for PGA events, or the path for players to get there, remains unknown.