Work continues at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine ahead of next week's 3M Open, with organizers keeping a close eye on how the field of golfers is faring at The Open Championship in Ireland.
"We love Friday of the Open Championship because, you know, they get done probably about 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon for us and we know the people that are not going to make the cut," says 3M Tournament Director Mike Welch.
Next? It can be a crush of last-minute changes for players across the pond on Friday afternoon and evening.
"And then they have about 90 minutes to enter our tournament if they feel like they need to get in it because we cut it off at 4:00 p.m. And so it's always a really interesting time in our office," says Welch.
The first round of the 3M Open gets underway Thursday and the timing of the tournament has made it an important PGA Tour stop for players trying to make it into the FedEx Cup Playoffs and qualify for more tournaments.
To qualify for the FedEx St. Jude Championship which is August 7-10 in Memphis, players need to rank in the top 70 on the tour - and any player below that has a chance to rack up some crucial points at the 3M.
"Years ago, Justin Thomas missed the cut and then boom, 30 minutes later, he was in our field," recalls Welch. "So we never root against anybody, but it's always a fun time for us. So yeah, we're super excited when that happens."
There are already some major professional golf names committed to the 3M Open. They include former Masters champ Adam Scott, U.S. Open champs Gary Woodland and Wyndahm Clark, fan favorites Rickie Fowler and Sahith Theegala, former 3M champs Jhonathan Vegas and Tony Finau, plus other top players like Sam Burns, Max Homa, Sungjae Im, Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim.
Two names connected locally are playing. Tom Hoge, who is from Fargo, North Dakota and is a two-time Minnesota amateur champion, will tee it up at the 3M. And Erik van Rooyen is playing. He's a native of South Africa, played collegiately University of Minnesota from 2009 through 2013 and won the 2012 Minnesota State Amateur.
You can get more information here on the 3M Open and get tickets.