Lee Hodges shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to lead the opening round of the 3M Open by one stroke and get off to a strong start in his quest to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs.
On a windier afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities, two-time major champion Justin Thomas opened with a 69. Thomas is aiming to qualify for both the Playoffs and the U.S. Ryder Cup Team.
Kevin Streelman tied Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker, and Tyler Duncan for the best round in the afternoon with a 64 while Emiliano Grillo, Nick Hardy, and Justin Suh were one shot behind. Nine players shot 66, including Tony Finau.
Hodges enters the week having missed the cut in 14 of 29 events this season and three of his last four competitions. The top 70 players advance to the FedExCup Playoffs, which start in two weeks, and he is now ranked 74th.
His round started off well with back-to-back birdies.
“I thought, “All right, here we go, might as well make a lot of birdies if we’re going to make a couple” after seeing that wedge shot on the first hole go to an inch and then making that 40-footer on the second hole,” Hodges said.
Through his first four holes, Finau was 5 under par, but his round then stopped.
“Really, for the first seven holes, I didn’t miss a stroke. That was a really strong start; it was a wonderful way to begin this week’s title defense and helped to ease my worries.” Finau said.
Players in the afternoon had to contend with a heat index of 105 degrees Fahrenheit in addition to gusts that reached 20 mph.
Suh, who was also a part of the morning wave, said, “To get out early where we had a few holes where we didn’t have to deal with wind is pretty key and just take advantage of those holes.”
After his round, Matsuyama required some heat-related care, but TOUR officials insisted it was nothing serious.
“On the back nine, it became really warm outside. I’ll unwind this afternoon and hopefully prepare properly for tomorrow’s game.” Matsuyama said.
The 42-year-old Snedeker was coming off four consecutive missed cuts as he entered the game for the sixth time after sternum surgery that kept him out of action for nine months. Around the turn, he made six birdies in eight holes.
“Even though it took a bit longer than I had hoped, I was eventually able to put together a round today. I knew there would be a small learning curve coming back. I hit the ball extremely well and didn’t do anything poorly all day, so it was good to see some putts go in and kind of have an easy, stress-free round.” Snedeker said.
In the FedExCup standings, Thomas is ranked 75th. He was paired with Gary Woodland (No. 90), who shot 72 and had a difficult time winning a major. Billy Horschel, who started at No. 119, was ranked 66th among the bunch.
Sepp Straka recovered for an even-par 71 after finishing in a tie for second place at The Open Championship.
