Scottie Scheffler left the British Open with some frustration after another near miss in a major championship and traveled straight to Minnesota for his first appearance in the 3M Open.
A week off after the last major of the season would have made sense for the world's top-ranked player, but Scheffler was focused on keeping his game sharp ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs — and find some off-the-course respite for him and his supporting cast.
Scheffler said Wednesday after playing a nine-hole pro-am with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. He told the media Wednesday that he's a big NFL fan and had plenty to say to the Viking coach. But he took it easy on him.
"I definitely wasn't going to just start hammering him with questions about football," Scheffler explained. "You know, he's about to start the season, so he's going to be thinking about football for quite a long period of time. But we did a little bit. Yeah, he seemed like a really nice guy. You can tell why he's such a good coach. He seemed very smart, I got to ask him a few questions and he told me some stuff. And it was definitely very, very fun for me to be able to spend some time with him."
Hospitality is key to getting the top players
Cavner, the tournament's director and chief executive officer of Pro Links Sports has made player hospitality a priority since the 3M Open was added to the PGA Tour schedule in 2019.
From the catered family dinners on the clubhouse patio each night to the inflatables and magicians for the kids, the event at TPC Twin Cities a half-hour's drive north of Minneapolis has become well-regarded by players, even if its calendar placement has limited the star power in the fields.
“People seem to be really thankful that we’re here, which is surprising for a golf tournament,” Scheffler said. “I was kind of taken aback by how nice people have been.”
Scheffler also found himself the recipient of 'Minnesota nice.'
"The people here have been tremendous," he said. "The fans have been really, really nice to me so far, and the tournament seems to do a really good job just taking care of everybody. The clubhouse is good. The food's been really good, family's taken care of, caddies taken care of. So, those are the things that a tournament, when everybody around me is getting taken care of as well, it's really easy for us to come and play. And so far this tournament's done a really good job."
Hollis Cavner is happy to hear that.
Scheffler's presence has put the tournament on pace for record attendance. He teed off early Thursday morning in Blaine.
“Every tent and every skybox sold out for the pro-am,” Cavner said. “We're really getting in position now where we feel like we've arrived.”
Scheffler seeks momentum for the postseason
Though this will be his fifth tournament in six weeks, including two in Britain, Scheffler didn't want to enter the playoffs after three weeks off. But he also says Minnesota nice, and the hospitality from the 3M Open and Cavner's team has been top-notch.
"I didn't really want to have three weeks off before the playoffs, and like I said, this was a tournament that I'd heard a lot of good things about, and so far everything seems true," Scheffler says.
Plus, Cavner, who is a longtime friend of Scheffler's coach Randy Smith and agent Blake Smith, has been relentless in his requests to have Scheffler make his first visit to Minnesota. Caddie Ted Scott also has a positive view of the course from his previous work with Bubba Watson.
“We've been talking to him for years, working him and working him and working him,” Cavner said. “Finally, they relented.”
There are several players in contention for the playoffs who could use a strong showing this week to climb above the cut. Jason Day, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge and 2022 3M Open champion Tony Finau are currently outside the top 70.
Scheffler, who had his third top-four finish in four majors this year at the British Open, has not won a tournament since The American Express in California in January.
“One of the things that I’ve always kind of prided myself on is the consistency. That’s something that shows that I’m playing some pretty good golf,” Scheffler said. “It just hasn’t been quite good enough to win some tournaments. I still feel like my game’s in a good spot and I’ve played some nice golf. I haven’t played any great golf yet, but I’ve played some nice golf over the course of the season. I think if you took a blind look at some of my results, I think a lot of people would say that’s a really good season.”
The PGA Tour's coming changes have clouded the 3M Open's future
The promotion-and-relegation system the PGA Tour has decided to implement starting in 2028 will require purses of at least $20 million for the 15 regular-season events included in the new Championship Series, with the rest going to the second-tier Challenger Series with minimum purses of $4 million. The 3M Open has an $8.8 million purse this year, and thus would need a big bump in sponsor cash to stay in the top tier.
“We feel very comfortable where we're at with the tour,” Cavner said. “This is a big market. This is something the tour wants, so I think that the 3M Open going forward is going to be just fine. I told our team, ‘Don’t think about ’28. Let's be the best of the best in ’26 and ’27, and then ’28 takes care of itself.'”
"The people here have been tremendous," Scheffler said about the Minnesota fans and their hospitality
"The people here have been tremendous," Scheffler said about the Minnesota fans and their hospitality
