The closing stretch at the 3M Open on Saturday provided a lot of intrigue with a manageable par 4, a tough par 3 that played at almost the same scoring average as par 4 and a closer par 5 where anything could: and it happened . It’s a fabulous three-hole stretch and rocked qualifying at the end of the day in Round 3.
Michael Thompson and Richy Werenski retain the joint lead they had on Friday night after they both shot 68 seconds on Saturday (roller coaster 68, but still 68). Let’s take a look at the break table and who has a chance to come on Sunday night at TPC Twin Cities.
S1 Michael Thompson (-15) – Almost fell apart for Thompson in the last holes. After a chirp at 15, he had to hop on and off at No. 16, bogey at No. 17 and hit him in the water from the tee at 18. Still, he somehow leads after going up and down again. from the bunker at No. 18. His swing looked great during the first 15 holes, but it got a little risky. Thompson is a good player, but he is something to remember in the final round.
S1 Richy Werenski (-15) – Unbelievably, when Werenski seemed to be fading a bit on Saturday, he bounced back to birdie three of his last four holes and put them on all four. I still don’t believe in Werenski, and he continues to prove me wrong. A victory on Sunday, the first of his career, would be a fabulous story in what has been a dream week so far for him.
S3 Tony Finau, Charl Schwartzel (-13) – Finau did what he had to do on Saturday: he kept the lead at a surprising distance and failed to get out of it by four or five when he reached the final round. He still has control of the tournament despite driving it so badly on Saturday. However, now is the time to close for Finau. He’s been 33 (thirty-three!) In the top 10 in his past four years without a win. You need to change that number sometime soon if you really want to be considered one of the 10-15 best players in the world.
5. Max Homa (-12) – After a bumpy Friday, Homa was out of the lights on Saturday with a stellar 64. After his round, he talked about how he felt good about swinging, but hasn’t seen anything fall into key putts. That has changed this week as he is currently eighth in the standings.
“I know where my game is typically all the time and I know it has been really good,” said Homa. “As I said a couple of days ago, the putts weren’t going in and it made me feel a little anxious at all times that you really can’t go wrong. I finally came to feel like I released the swing and I ‘guess I hit it even better than before. Then putting some putts on top always helps. “
T6 Cameron Tringale, Denny McCarthy, Alex Noren, Harris English, Ryan Moore, Nick Watney, Cameron Davis (-11) – English was my choice for the week, and he very quietly shot 65-67 on Friday and Saturday to reach qualification after a bad first round. He’ll probably need something in the mid-60s again on Sunday for a chance to win, but the best season of his career will likely advance to a sixth top 10 in just 15 events.
CBS Sports was with you the entire time updating this story with the latest Moving Day scores, updates, and highlights. Check out live scores at the top of this story or a more detailed leaderboard.
