Golf
3M Open preview: Mitchell driving down the road to glory
With all four Majors now behind us focus turns to the tours as the PGA Tour heads to Minnesota. There are still Ryder cup places to play for and PGA titles to be snapped up so don’t expect things to get any less competitive at the 3M Open.
We preview the key contenders below.
Keith Mitchell – 33/1
Having not qualified for last week’s Open Championship, Keith Mitchell will be fresh and raring to go for the 3M Open and that could cause serious problems for the rest of the field.
It is over four years since Mitchell won his last PGA Tour event but the long 7,468-yard course at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota could play right into the American’s hands.
With the driver likely to come out on many occasions, Mitchell will be in his element as the number one ranked overall driver on the PGA Tour. Mitchell ranks better than every other player when combining distance and accuracy, a stat which will be vital round this long course.
Mitchell is also consistent enough when it gets closer to the hole, ranking above the average for strokes-gained from tee to green and strokes-gained putting. His main weakness lies in shorter approaches to the green, especially approaches from sub 100 yards, but his above average putting game could be enough to make up for it.
Mitchell is currently 33/1 to win the 3M Open to secure his first PGA Tour victory since 2019 and with two top five finishes this year he has been in the mix on occasion. Another stat worth noting is that Mitchell ranks 17th on the tour for average first round score, and with the American being better rested than a lot of the top players in the field he would have every chance of holding on to an early lead should he fly out of the blocks again.
Adam Hadwin – 35/1
Adam Hadwin has had a year to remember on the PGA Tour in 2023 and the Canadian could still top it off with a first win since 2017. Although it has been a year to remember due to a once in a lifetime moment when he was tackled by a security guard having not been recognised when running onto the green to congratulate Nick Taylor on winning the Canadian Open, he has also played some memorable golf.
His most notable performance of the year came when he took Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa to a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic less than a month ago. Hadwin and Morikawa ended up tying for second place behind Fowler but their scores of -24 were no mean feat.
Hadwin has recorded five top 20 finishes on the Tour this year but has come no closer to victory than he did at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. The Canadian’s short game has been the key to his top finishes this year, ranking well above average when approaching the green from anywhere from 75-150 yards. He is also handy with the putter and ranks 33rd on the tour for strokes-gained putting, and fifth on the tour for putting from within 10 feet.
Hadwin’s 35/1 odds are representative of the fact that he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour for so long whilst others in the field have won more recently but this seems harsh given that he only missed out on a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic via a playoff with golfing royalty in Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa. Hadwin has shown that he is more than capable of mixing with those at the top of the leader board and it will be no surprise to see him in amongst the leaders at the 3M Open this year.
Take on Hadwin with fast-starting Mitchell
Interestingly we also have a Keith Mitchell v Adam Hadwin market for the 3M Open currently live. At slightly shorter odds of 5/6 we have Adam Hadwin slim favourite go better of the two in Minnesota, but should Mitchell get off to a quick start it could be hard for the Canadian to catch him and Mitchell to get the better of Hadwin at 19/20 looks the value play here.
