Golf picks: 3M Open predictions & best bets from expert Joe Champion - Sam Burns seals the deal

Sam Burns plays a shot from a bunker on the 15th hole during the first round of the Tour Championship golf tournament.
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Joe Champion

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Golf and soccer analyst for Pickswise, while also an avid tennis fan. One of very few Milton Keynes Dons soccer fans. For Joe Champion media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.
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Scottie Scheffler is a US Open title away from completing the career Grand Slam following a masterful performance at Royal Portrush, and it would take a brave bettor to bet against the British Open champion completing the set at some stage in his career. Scheffler will launch a bid for immortality at Shinnecock Hills next June, but first he’ll have a few more goals to accomplish as attention turns to the FedEx Cup playoffs in August and the Ryder Cup at the end of September. With the playoffs on the horizon, the next fortnight of PGA Tour action – which begins with the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, Minnesota, this week – will be all about the jostling for places in the top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings. With that in mind, let’s dive into my golf predictions for the 3M Open.

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3M Open golf picks and predictions

3M Open best bet: Sam Burns (+1800)

Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.

TPC Twin Cities has hosted all 6 editions of the 3M Open, most recently last season when Jhonattan Vegas claimed his 4th PGA Tour title, and first in seven years, with a 17-under-par winning score. This medium-length parkland track usually provides easy pickings for the PGA Tour professionals, and that looks unlikely to change this week with conditions expected to allow for low scoring again. The roll of honor is an eclectic one – bombers like Vegas, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ and Tony Finau have all won the 3M, but short-hitting Michael Thompson and Lee Hodges have also triumphed through a combination of accurate approaches and a hot putter.

Tournament favorite Sam Burns fits into both categories – the Louisiana man is an elite putter who is both long off the tee and in excellent form with his irons. After chalking up 8 straight North American top-30 finishes – including 3 top-10s – from the Heritage to the Travelers Championship, Burns put in a couple of lesser efforts in the Scottish Open and British Open, but links golf has never really been his game and he still made the cut in both events.

The 28-year-old, a 5-time PGA Tour champion, struck the ball to a high standard at Royal Portrush, putting poorly on unfamiliar greens, but he’s likely to improve in that department back on bentgrass greens at TPC Twin Cities. Three visits to Minnesota have resulted in form figures of 7-32-12. The first 2 of those efforts came when he was outside the world’s top 100, so he looks poised to go close again as a member of the elite.

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3M Open prediction: Cameron Champ (+5500)

Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.

Former champion Champ is never an easy golfer to predict but this is a happy hunting ground for the long-driving Californian, who, in addition to winning in 2021, was 16th the following year after a run of 5 straight missed cuts, and 12th last year when entering the event in similarly dismal form.

He missed the cut at the Barracuda Championship last week, but had previously finished 9th at the Canadian Open, 19th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, 27th at the John Deere Classic and 14th at the ISCO Championship.

3M Open pick: Jacob Bridgeman (+7500)

Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook and DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.

Like top-ranked Burns, Jacob Bridgeman sits in the top 10 for strokes-gained putting on the PGA Tour, and he immediately took to Twin Cities last year, finishing 19th on course debut. Bridgeman did well to make the cut at the Scottish Open last time out given his links inexperience, and he was previously 5th at the John Deere Classic, closing with a final-round 64.

3M Open longshot pick: Pierceson Coody (+8000)

Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.

Pierceson Coody, long regarded as a top talent, also looks worth keeping on side this week at big odds. Coody has been producing excellent results on the Korn Ferry Tour, chalking up 4 straight top-10 finishes on that circuit, and it’s only a matter of time before he contends for another event at the top level.

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