Golf Predictions, Picks, Preview & Odds

This week we head to TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis for the 2023 3M Open where SportsLens’ resident golf expert Joe Lyons is offering up some of our very own betting tips and predictions.

The 3M Open succeeded the 3M Championship, a PGA Tour Champions event, debuting in 2019 and is held annually at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minneapolis.

This marks the second-to-last event of the Regular Season with many of this week’s field fighting for a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs, where just 70 players will qualify for the PGA Tour’s postseason.

Best 3M Open Betting Offers

3M Open 2023 Preview

This year’s defending champion is world number 19 Tony Finau, who beat Sungjae Im and Emiliano Grillo by three strokes with a score of -17 in 2022. The 33-year-old is available at a price of 12/1 with the best golf betting sites.

TPC Twin Cities is an original Arnold Palmer design with help from player consultant for the layout, Minnesota native Tom Lehman and plays at a longer-than-usual 7,431 yards with a par of 71. The course was renovated in 2018 to include narrowing fairways, bunkers and adding/repositioning tee complexes.

Matthew Wolff won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2019 and holds the 72-hole record of 263 shots (-21). The 3M Open has been a birdie fest each year since its introduction, with the worst winning score at 15 under in 2021 when Cameron Champ reigned victorious.

The field in Minnesota is a lot stronger compared to previous years due to the looming FedExCup Playoffs, which has been slashed from a field of 125 to 70 this time around. 27 players who tee it up this week are between number 55 and 85 in the current FedExCup standings, with plenty at stake.

Six players from the Official World Golf Ranking’s top-35 will feature: Tony Finau, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka and Hideki Matsuyama. Apart from Finau, Champ is the only previous winner of the tournament returning to TPC Twin Cities this week.

Ball-striking will be key this week and hold a higher premium than normal, whilst the oversized greens put less of an emphasis on a player’s form around the greens heading in. The easy scoring conditions should prove to be a treat to watch.

3M Open Betting Tips

Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to chance

3M Open Tip 1: Cameron Young To Win @ 14/1 with BetUK

Cameron Young is edging ever closer towards a first win on the PGA Tour and this feels like the perfect opportunity for him to get over the line in a weaker field at the 3M Open this week.

He arrives in Minnesota off the back of a tremendous month of July, finishing tied-sixth at the John Deere Classic and posting a score of 16 under in easy scoring conditions and a tied-eighth finish at The Open where disruptive weather conditions and a poor showing on the greens prevented him from making a true charge to become Champion Golfer.

Despite this, Young was the best player off-the-tee in Hoylake all week and gained 1.71 strokes in that department which should translate nicely to TPC Twin Cities. He ranks 12th in SG: OTT on the PGA Tour this season, as well as second in driving distance which could hand him a huge advantage here.

The 26-year-old ranks fifth in approaches from 175-200 yards, fourth in approaches from 150-175 yards and sixth in approaches from 125-150 yards on the tour and should see this as a golden opportunity to get his hands on silverware for the first time.

Detroit Golf Club has been likened to a similar course in comparison to TPC Twin Cities and Young posted a tied-second finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year, where he gained 1.26 strokes off-the-tee and finished in second place behind only Tony Finau.

Birdies will be the key in Minneapolis and Young ranks fifth in birdie or better percentage (24.5%) and fourth in average birdies per round (4.37). He’s posted five top ten finishes this season and will count himself unlucky not to have a win on the board yet.

Priced with the best golf betting sites at 14/1, Cameron Young is our headline pick to win the 3M Open.

3M Open Tip 2: Emiliano Grillo To Win And Each-Way (8 Places) @ 28/1 with BetUK

Emiliano Grillo is another man fresh off the back of a strong showing at Royal Liverpool last weekend, finishing in a tie for sixth where his game was in good shape all around. He gained 0.73 strokes off-the-tee, 1.4 in approach and 1.07 with the flat stick.

The Argentinian finished in tied-second at the 3M Open last year, three strokes behind Finau where a disappointing final round of even par came at the worst time possible. He has since tasted victory on the PGA Tour for a second time at the Charles Schwab Challenge back in May and knows what it takes to get the job done properly.

Grillo ranks sixth on the tour in total driving efficiency and eighth in total birdies, whilst recording positive numbers off-the-tee and in approach. He has played in this tournament three times, also finishing in a tie for third in 2020 and knows how to get the best out of TPC Twin Cities.

TPC Deere Run is also a similar course in comparison and Grillo finished tied-second there in 2020. Another comparable track is Silverado Resort, where the 30-year-old won the Fortinet Championship (formerly known as the Frys.com Open) in 2016.

It’s also worth noting that Finau built on a tremendous final-round 64 at The Open at St Andrews last year to go on and win the 3M Open a week later. Grillo’s final-round 68 at Hoylake could prove to be the perfect momentum stepping stone to snatch victory in Minnesota.

He’s playing without any pressure and in a comfortable position in the FedExCup standings, so I expect Emiliano Grillo to build on his promising form and good course record at the 3M Open this week.

3M Open Tip 3: Sepp Straka To Win And Each-Way (8 Places) @ 35/1 with BetUK

Sepp Straka looks to have booked his spot on the Europe team plane to Rome for the Ryder Cup later this year and the Austrian is in tremendous form following his win at the John Deere Classic and tied-second finish at The Open last weekend.

The 30-year-old gained 2.41 strokes from tee-to-green at Hoylake, the fourth-best in the field and is developing into an impressive player who can hold his own up against the very best in the game. With a weaker field at the 3M Open this week, he should fancy his chances at a third PGA Tour title.

He ranks 14th on the tour in approach and 20th in driving accuracy percentage, which I expect to translate well around TPC Twin Cities. After winning at TPC Deere Run, we know he enjoys this course format which is further proven by tied-11th and tied-eighth finishes around Detroit Golf Club in the Rocket Mortgage in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

He also finished tied-14th at the Fortinet Championship in 2021 and with his game in even better shape heading into the 2023 3M Open, he should also be a big player in the field – not to mention the potential to, like Finau, build on a fantastic final-round 69 at The Open on Sunday.

3M Open Tip 4: Austin Eckroat To Win And Each-Way (12 Places) @ 70/1 with BetUK

Austin Eckroat looks an attractive price at 70/1 (opened at 80 and quickly shortened) with the best golf betting sites to win the 3M Open following a string of strong performances on the PGA Tour this season.

The 24-year-old finished tied-16th at the 3M Open in 2021 and has recorded three top-10 finishes this season at the Corales Puntacana Championship, AT&T Byron Nelson and US Open. The AT&T was a birdie-fest where he finished at 22 under, proving he can hang with the best in easy scoring conditions alongside tied-16th at the Charles Schwab.

He ranks tenth in total driving efficiency on the tour, alongside a solid 50th in total strokes gained and 30th off-the-tee. He is also accurate with his driver which could prove to be a huge plus around TPC Twin Cities, ranking 34th in driving accuracy percentage (63.7%).

He’s fighting to keep his spot in the top-70 of the FedExCup standings (currently 62nd) and knows he’ll need a strong performance to book his spot in the playoffs, so I have no problem taking a chance on Eckroat to win the 3M Open at 70/1 (12 places).

3M Open 2023 Odds

Take a look at the best UK sports betting sites and claim the best bookmaker free bets ahead of this week’s action in Minneapolis.

• Tony Finau @ 12/1
• Cameron Young @ 14/1
• Hideki Matsuyama @ 18/1
• Justin Thomas @ 20/1
• Sungjae Im @ 20/1
• Emiliano Grillo @ 28/1
• Sahith Theegala@ 33/1
• Ludvig Aberg @ 33/1
• Sepp Straka @ 35/1
• Cam Davis @ 35/1

Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change

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