I don’t know about you, but it might be tough to watch golf this weekend.
The Open at Royal Portrush was fantastic. The golf course, the views, the vibes. Any tournament would have a tough time following that one up, but it just happens to be one played in Blaine, Minnesota—talk about polar opposites.
However, the field at this week’s 3M Open has enough intriguing names that when Thursday morning rolls around, I’m sure I’ll throw on ESPN+. But one in particular has all my attention at TPC Twin Cities—Mr. Jake Knapp.
I was taking a look at the past champions here, and one thing stood out: bombers love it.
Jhonattan Vegas last season (ranked ninth in driving distance in 2024), Tony Finau in 2022, Cameron Champ in 2021 (ranked third in driving distance that season), and Matthew Wolff in 2019 (ranked sixth in driving distance that season).
This place can be taken apart by the long ball, and we all know Knapp does that part of the game as well as anyone out on TOUR.
This season, the one-time winner is 27th in driving distance and ninth in club head speed. That’ll play around TPC Twin Cities.
And over the last few months, Knapp has put together a string of nice finishes.
He tied for 27th at the RBC Canadian Open despite a disappointing final-round 73—he was only a few shots back with 18 holes to play. He tied for fourth at the Rocket Classic, another venue that’s been dominated by big hitters. A week later, he tied for 21st at the John Deere Classic with a final-round 65. And across the pond, Knapp played well at The Reinassance Club to grab a share of 22nd at the Genesis Scottish Open—another tournament he was near the top of the leaderboard with 18 holes to play but Sunday struggles sent him the other way.
Long story short, it feels like Knapp is circling his second TOUR win, and this is a great spot for him to get it.
Ron Klos, my favorite golf Twitter statistician, mentioned that TPC Twin Cities plays a lot more like a Florida golf course than a Minnesote one, given there’s water all over the place. Before missing the cut at the Valspar earlier this season, Knapp tied for sixth at the Cognizant Classic—aided by a Thursday 59—and for 12th at THE PLAYERS—he also finished T-4 at PGA National a year ago.
So, I think it’s safe to say Knapp doesn’t mind that kind of golf.
Plus, Blaine is getting some heavy rain on Wednesday, so Knapp’s distance off the tee will be an even bigger advantage than it normally would.
So, in the end, despite the major championship hangover, there’s plenty of reasons to turn on the tube this weekend to watch the 3M Open—Jake Knapp being the main one.
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