Golf
3M Open preview: Fishburn can reel in maiden victory at TPC Twin Cities
The Major season might be over after last week’s Open Championship, but there is still all to play for on the PGA Tour as the players head to Minnesota for the 3M Open.
After a tough week at Royal Troon which saw America complete a clean sweep with Xander Schauffele landing his second Major of the year, many of the players will be happy to return to calmer conditions and lower scoring.
With an average winning score of 19-under-par in the past five years, TPC Twin Cities in Blaine hosts the tournament once again and it could be a very important week for those chasing a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs.
We have two selections whom we think could make the most of avoiding a gruelling week in Scotland and go seriously low here.
Keith Mitchell 30/1
A weakened field at a low-scoring course, with approach play an important factor – who else but Keith Mitchell? A frequent selection for us in this type of tournament, Mitchell once again has a great chance of landing a second PGA Tour victory here.
He thrives in low-scoring conditions and this tournament has been a personal favourite of his in recent years, finishing fifth in both of his last starts here. He has also performed well in correlating events on the PGA Tour this season, with a tidy T18 at the John Deere Classic earlier this month.
The stats prove that he is one of the finest ball strikers on the Tour, but his putting has held him back from picking up any wins this year. Ranking inside the top six in the world for strokes gained from tee-to-green, off-the-tee and approaching the green – he certainly knows how to get himself in the right areas.
At 30/1 his putting will determine whether or not he provides good value. He’s had two missed cuts on the bounce, giving him ample opportunity to work on the flatstick and we hope he heads to Minnesota ready to hole a few putts.
Should he do so, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t find himself in the 8 places available with William Hill, and if it all comes together then “Kashmir Keith” could well win in style.
Patrick Fishburn 70/1
Our other angle in here is the lesser-known Patrick Fishburn. The American has been far from prolific in his debut season on the PGA Tour, but he looks to be finding some form just in time to challenge here.
His best performances have all come at correlating events, scoring 23-under to finish T4 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans a few months back. More recently, he finished T25 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, 15th at the ISCO Championship and third at last weekend’s Barracuda Championship.
He heads to Minnesota as a 70/1-shot with the wind in his sails, having finished in the 8 places available with William Hill for the second time this season last weekend.
His approach play stats don’t lend themselves to success round this track, but with newly tightened fairways and rough which you seriously want to avoid, his ranking of sixth on the Tour for strokes gained off-the-tee could come in handy.
He also has a great ability to hit greens in regulation, ranking ninth on the Tour in that aspect. With anything out of the fairway posing a tricky task, TPC Twin Cities ranks sixth in scrambling difficulty – luckily Fishburn ranks 11th in the world for his scrambling.
His ability to go low has been proven a few times this season and he is in good form heading into this week. Now seems as good a time as ever for him to pick up a maiden victory, and confidence in him can be high if he makes it to Sunday as he ranks sixth in the world for final round scoring.
