Local stars, celebrities turn out for 3M Open Pro-Am, Compass Challenge
Kyle Rudolph, Larry Fitzgerald Jr. captain 3M Open Compass Challenge
Pro-Am Day for the 3M Open wrapped up with the Compass Challenge, captained by former Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph and Minnesota native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. Riggs from Barstool Sports and Vikings receiver Adam Thielen tee off No. 10 at TPC Twin Cities.
MINNEAPOLIS - Conditions were hot and windy at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine on Wednesday as some of the top PGA Tour pros got their final look at the course before first round action of the 3M Open starts Thursday.
It also marked Pro-Am Day, which means local celebrities and sports figures got their chance to play TPC Twin Cities. That’s a list that includes University of Minnesota football coach PJ Fleck, former NHL stars Mark Parrish and Paul Martin, and country music star Jake Owen.
Some of the featured players of the afternoon were former Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, current receiver Adam Thielen, former NFL star Larry Fitzgerald Jr. and former Twins’ great Justin Morneau. The day allowed golf fans to get up close with some of their favorite players, getting autographs and photos with big-name players like Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau.
The day ended with the 3M Open Compass Challenge, a three-hole shamble with teams captained by Rudolph and Fitzgerald. Rudolph’s team included former NFL star Ronde Barber, Owen and Edina native Mardy Fish, a former professional tennis player who will compete in this week’s 3M Open, his first PGA Tour event, on a sponsor’s exemption.
Fitzgerald’s team included Thielen, golf social media influencer and content creator Roger Steele and Riggs from Barstool Sports. In the "shamble" format, players from both teams hit tee shots, take the best result and play their own ball out the rest of the hole, taking the best score. A few hundred fans followed the action as all eight players played 10, 11 and 12 at TPC Twin Cities together, and the banter was both competitive and friendly.
When it was over, Fitzgerald’s team won the three-hole event and made a $75,000 donation to First Tee Minnesota. Rudolph’s team, as the second-place finisher, made a $50,000 donation to the Greater Twin Cities United Way. The week-long event will end up contribution $1.5 million to local charities.
First round action at the 3M Open starts bright and early Thursday, with the first groups going off Nos. 1 and 10 at 6:50 a.m.