The 2022 PGA Tour season has reached the homestretch. The four majors are in the books and now there are only two tournaments left before the golfers tee it up in the three FedEx Playoff tournaments. There will be 11 of the top 50 golfers in the world golf rankings teeing it up Thursday in the 3M Open in Minnesota. That does not sound very good, but there is enough talent in this field to build some good DFS lineups this week.
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
Course Breakdowns
TPC Twin Cities will be the course this week. It is a par 72 which plays 7,164 yards in length. Minnesota is the “Land of Lakes” so of course there are a lot of water hazards. But these are not normal golfers teeing it up this week. Most of the golfers should be able to use their length to take the water out of play.
The greens should be easy to hit and they do not have too much slope. TPC Twin Cities has Bentgrass greens with normal PGA Tour speeds. The ball typically roles true on this type of surface so I would expect more golfers to be able to sink long birdie putts then what we had last week.
This will be the fourth time the PGA Tour has hosted a tournament at this course so we have a bit more data to work with this week than what we had the previous two seasons.
Click here to see the course: TPC Twin Cities
KEY STATS FOR 3M OPEN
– Stroke Gained Approach
– Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
– Par 4 Scoring 400 – 450 Yards
– Birdie or Better %
TOP 30 GOLFERS
STRATEGY FOR THE 3M OPEN
My strategy for Cash Contests is to always select the safest golfers in the field who offer some upside. There are not many of those types of golfers entered in the 3M Open this week. It is going to be a tough tournament to build a Cash Contest lineup. If you get 6/6 through the cut, you will likely double your entry fee. I will build my lineup around the golfers who are in good form, have made a lot of cuts in a row and have some course history. That means I will be fading the $10K golfers in Cash Contest lineups.
The strategy for Tournament Contest will be to diversify my lineups. The golfers priced over $10K are clearly the class of the field, but each year we see these golfers return from overseas and lay an egg in the 3M Open. I will have some exposure to these golfers, but my focus will be from the mid-$9K through the mid-$7K price range. I think that is where your winner will come from Sunday.
CORE GOLFERS FOR 3M OPEN
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
SEPP STRAKA ($9,500): Straka has been the best golfer on the PGA Tour over the last three weeks. He won the John Deere Classic and then finished second in the Open Championship. Can he keep his hot streak going in Minnesota? I think he can. Straka ranks No. 2 in the key stats. Straka should have a good chance to win Sunday if he can just play like he has been playing over the last month.
J.T. POSTON ($8,400): Poston enters the 3M Open with a lot of form. He finished sixth three weeks ago in the John Deere Classic and sixth again two weeks ago at the Scottish Open. Poston ranks eighth in the key stats this week. He has never missed a cut in the 3M Open and he finished 11th in this tournament last year. He should be a safe play with a lot of upside this weekend.
MARK HUBBARD ($8,300): I played Hubbard a lot this year and he has rewarded me in most tournaments. He did go through a slump in June with two missed cuts, but he bounced back with a sixth-place finish in the John Deere Classic and a 10th-place finish last week at the Barracuda Championship. Hubbard ranks sixth in the key stats. He finished 16th in his only 3M Open in 2021. He should have a good chance to finish in the top-15 Sunday.
LUCAS GLOVER ($8,200): Glover is the one golfer in this lineup I had a hard time with. His stats suggest he should win Sunday. Glover ranks No. 1 in Shots Gained Tee-to-Green, No. 2 in Shots Gained Approach, No. 1 in Ball-Striking and No. 1 in the key stats. His course history sucks though. His course history also sucked when finished fourth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and sixth at the John Deere Classic. I will trust the numbers over the course history and play Glover this week.
VINCENT NORMAN ($8,100): Norman is one of the most talented young golfers on the PGA Tour. He won two weeks ago at the Barbasol Championship and he finished 25th last week at the Barracuda Championship (I know these are not exactly stack fields, but he did play well). Norman ranks ninth in the key stats this week. He should be able to make the cut and finish in the top-20.
CHEZ REAVIE ($7,300): There is a lot of water on the course this week, so accuracy is going to be important. Reavie is one of the most accurate golfers on the PGA Tour and that is why he has never missed the cut in the 3M Open. That includes an 11th-place finish in 2021. Reavie has also made eight consecutive cuts on the tour. Reavie ranks fourth in the key stats this week. He is a good golfer to have at the bottom of your Cash Contest lineup.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
SUNGJAE IM ($10,300): There is going to be a lot of scoring in the 3M Open and Im is one of the best in the field at racking up a lot of birdies. I expect Cameron Young and Tony Finau will be higher owned from the $10K price range this week. I will pivot to Sungjae. He finished second in this tournament last year and he should be in contention to win on Sunday.
LUDVIG ARBERG ($9,400): Arberg was the best young golfer on the PGA Tour until they made the trip overseas. Maybe Arberg is just not that good at links-style golf. We do know that Arberg is good in the U.S.A. He finished 24th at the Travelers Championship and fourth at the John Deere Classic. Arberg ranks 10th in the key stats this week. I will not be surprised if Arberg gets his first win on the PGA Tour Sunday.
ERIC COLE ($7,800): Cole has been one of the most consistent golfers on the PGA Tour. He has made seven straight cuts, dating back to May. He ranks 26th in the key stats this week. One of the comp courses to TPC Twin Cities is PGA National, where the Honda Classic is played. The key to winning at both courses is to avoid the water. Cole finished second in the Honda Classic. I will play him this week and hope he can have similar success in Minnesota.
RYAN FOX ($7,600): Fox has consistently made the cut this year (Six in a row) and he has been a top-25 machine (seven finishes in the top-25). He has never played the 3M Open, but he has been teeing it up for the first time at most of the courses this year. Fox ranks 25th in the key stats this week. His accuracy should allow him to finish in the top-15 at the 3M Open.
AUSTIN ECKROAT ($7,500): Eckroat was playing really good golf in late May and in June. He had an average finishing position of 16th in his five tournaments to start the summer. He cooled off in July, but now he is rested after two weeks off. I will play Eckroat and hope the rest helps him find his game he had in June. If he does, Eckroat should finish in the top-15.
DOUG GHIM ($7,400): Ghim should be a good golfer to have as the anchor of your Tournament Contest lineup. He missed the cut in the Scottish Open two weeks ago, but he made the cut in his previous six starts. He not only made the cut, he had an average finishing position of 22nd in those starts. Ghim ranks 23rd in the key stats this week. He finished 16th in the 3M Open last year and 18th in 2020. Ghim should have a good chance to finish in the top-20 Sunday.
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contest: (Fantasy Racing Tips)
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST LINEUP
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST LINEUP
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the eighth tournament of Segment 4. This is the toughest Segment to navigate because there are two majors (U.S. Open and the Open Championship), one elevated event (Travelers Championship) and four FedEx Playoff Tournaments). Use your golfers wisely.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: CAMERON YOUNG (3M OPEN)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Dustin Johnson (MC), Matthew Fitzpatrick (MC), Russell Henley (35th), Rickie Fowler (Win), Scottie Scheffler (4), Brooks Koepka (17th), Justin Rose (8th), Patrick Cantlay (30TH) (Memorial), Tommy Fleetwood (MC), Jon Rahm (50th), Adam Scott (8th), Viktor Hovland (43rd), Tony Finau (Win), Sungjae Im (7TH), Jordan Spieth (4th), Si Woo Kim (39th), Tyrrell Hatton (60th), Adam Hadwin (MC), Rory McIlroy (MC), Will Zalatoris (53rd), Matt Kuchar (MC), Tony Finau (20), Xander Schauffele (10th), Seamus Power (15th), Max Homa (1st), Brian Harman (MC), and Corey Conners (12th)
SEASON LONG ONE & DONE PICK: SEPP STRAKA (3M OPEN)
Players Used This Season in One & Done: Collin Morikawa (MC), Matthew Fitzpatrick (MC), Emiliano Grillo (MC), Rickie Fowler (Win), Scottie Scheffler (4), Dustin Johnson (10th), Justin Rose (8TH), Patrick Cantlay (30TH), Tommy Fleetwood (MC), Brooks Koepka (Win), K-H Lee (50th), Cameron Young (59th), Tony Finau (Win), Keith Mitchell (6th), Tom Kim (MC), Brooks Koepka (2nd), Matt Kuchar (3rd), Wyndham Clark (6th), Adam Hadwin (MC), Rory McIlroy (MC), Will Zallatoris (53rd), Sungjae Im (42nd), Max Homa (2), Xander Schauffele (10th), Jordan Spieth (63rd), Jon Rahm (7th), Taylor Montgomery (5th), Russell Henley (32nd), Seamus Power (25th), Brian Harman (2nd), Maverick McNealy (27th), Emiliano Grillo (42nd), Nick Hardy (28th), Terrell Hatton (13TH) Christian Bezuidenhout (29th), Cameron Davis (37th), Denny McCarthy (39th), Brendon Steele (MC)
BEST BETS FOR 3M OPEN
EMILIANO GRILLO (25-1)
LUDVIG ABERG (28-1)
GARY WOODLAND (35-1)
LUCAS GLOVER (45-1)
ERIC COLE (45-1)
VINCENT NORMAN (65-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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