3M Open prediction: Finau favourite, Burns and Theegala in the running

The PGA Tour resumes this weekend less than a week after the conclusion of a pulsating Open Championships at Royal Troon.
And some of the world’s top golfers will barely have time to recover from jet lag as the 3M Open begins at TPC Twin Cities on Thursday, 25 July.
Several of the world’s top-ranked golfers will be missing the event in Minnesota, including Open champion Xander Schauffele, world number one Scottie Scheffler, and the rest of the top 10-ranked players on the tour.
In fact, Sahith Theegala will enter the 3M Open as the highest-ranked player in the tournament, with the world number 11 having failed to make the cut at The Open last week.
Yet despite his superior ranking, the American is not the favourite to win the competition – that tag goes instead to Tony Finau, the current world number 19 and the winner of the 3M Open in 2022.
And yet with odds as far as 11/1 for Finau, it’s clearly a difficult field to predict, with last year’s champion Lee Hodges in the mix along with Open Championship performers Billy Horschel (who finished tied second) and Thriston Lawrence (who came fourth).
Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time last month, and he’s previously shown that form over in Detroit carries well to TPC Twin Cities, having finished as high as 10th and 12th in the past.
While the Australian didn’t play at the Open last week, his score of -10 at the Scottish Open was a solid result to set himself up for Minnesota, and he’s currently second in the PGA’s power rankings ahead of Thursday’s tee off.
This week, betting apps have Davis at joint-seventh favourite to win the 3M Open at odds of 35/1, behind Finau, Burns and Horschel among others.
The Aussie’s solid tee-to-green performance at the Scottish Open, combined with a week of rest before playing on a course he’s familiar with and in improved conditions, means he may be a better choice than some of those shorter in the betting.
BetMGM pay out on each way bets for finishing in the top six at 1/5 of the outright odds.
3M Open prediction 1: Cam Davis each way – 35/1 BetMGM
Sam Burns, Theegala and Finau are top contenders to win the tournament, with Finau being the outstanding favourite at the top of the betting. But, rather than betting on a winner, it might make sense to choose the shorter odds to target a top-five finish for one of the three expected to challenge for the title.
Burns might have been the only one to finish The Open last week – having tied for 31st place on six-over – but Finau is a previous champion at TPC Twin Cities and Theegala, as the top-ranked player in the tournament, has something to prove after failing to make the cut at Royal Troon.
And all three will be more confident as they head back to home turf, with kinder conditions awaiting them and a less intense level of competition to fight off. Theegala’s price catches our eye at 11/2, having already recorded four top-five finishes on the tour this season.
3M Open prediction 2: Sahith Theegala to Finish in the Top 5 – 11/2 BetVictor
The 2022 winner will be eager to take back the trophy when he returns to TPC Twin Cities, a course that he has played at every year since the tournament’s first iteration in 2019. He finished tied seventh last year, but he’s never missed a cut in Minnesota and his scoring average in 20 rounds is 67.60.
Finau is first in the PGA’s power rankings, having been strong in these types of fields in recent years, and though he missed the cut at The Open last week, he’ll be confident of winning the title for the second time, having entered as a strong favourite for a reason.
3M Open prediction 3: Tony Finau to win – 11/1 Betfred
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