In an emotional day at the 3M Open, Adam Svensson shone with an impressive performance that catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard. The Canadian golfer delivered a card of 60 strokes, eleven under par, thanks to a spectacular eagle from 48 feet on the final hole. This result not only gave him a two-stroke lead over his pursuers, Sam Stevens and Thorbjorn Olesen, but also marked a milestone in the history of the tournament, setting the lowest score in its seven years of existence. Svensson demonstrated his skill on the field with nine birdies and impeccable play, without making any mistakes. His performance equaled the TPC Twin Cities course record, set by Paul Goydos at the 3M Championship of the PGA Tour Champions in 2017. Chris Gotterup, who finished third at last week’s British Open and won the Scottish Open two weeks ago, is three strokes behind Svensson, along with Chad Ramey and Matthias Schmid. Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp, and Brendan Valdes are also in contention, one stroke behind. Rickie Fowler and Emiliano Grillo were among the players at six under par. Svensson’s only tour victory was at the RSM Classic 2022. The 31-year-old player has had a mixed performance in the current season, with only one top 25 in 21 participations and 11 missed cuts.
With only 25 putts, including a birdie of almost 40 feet on the 11th hole and another of 34 feet on the fourth, Svensson demonstrated his dominance on the green. This impressive 60 is the second-lowest score on the PGA Tour this season, after Knapp’s 59 at the Cognizant Classic in February. Sam Stevens, for his part, had the opportunity to tie Svensson with an eagle on the 18th hole, but an unfortunate shot with his second shot, which ended up in the water, led him to a bogey and a round of 62, his best result on the tour.I had a great practice session today. I putted really well, made a lot of breaks. It was probably my best round of putts I’ve had.
Adam Svensson
Fowler and Grillo are among the players looking to secure their place in the first playoff event, which will have a field of 70 participants in two weeks. Fowler was ranked 63rd and Grillo 71st at the start of the week.I have a big gap between my 3-iron and my 3-wood, and I hit a bad shot. I thought if I hit the 3-wood, it would just fly into the back of the green, and I had to hit a perfect 3-iron to even cover the water. But I thought that was my best chance to shoot 59, so I went for it.
Sam Stevens
Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland, in 66th and 78th positions respectively, achieved rounds of 67 strokes. Keith Mitchell, in 70th position, signed a card of 68, while Cam Davis, in 65th position, finished with 71 strokes. The defending champion, Jhonattan Vegas, completed the round with 68 strokes. Haotong Li, who played in the final pairing with Scottie Scheffler at the British Open and finished in fourth place, recorded a round of 70 strokes, one under par.At the end of the day, good golf solves many things.
Rickie Fowler
