Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 3M Open

2023 3M Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

They say that Links golf is all about ‘fairways and greens’, so maybe it’s no wonder that Brian Harman shocked the world by winning the British Open by six strokes on Sunday.

If you think about it, a player that ranks inside the top-50 on TOUR for GIR, SG: Putting and Scoring Average has all the basic ingredients to win tournaments – not least when the conditions get tough, as they were at Royal Liverpool.

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Even the cream of the crop were finding themselves in trouble off the tee or around the greens of the famous Hoylake club, but not Harman – he showed the patience of a saint and the fortitude of a multiple-time major winner to land just this third PGA TOUR title in more than 300 starts.

Every dog has their day, as the saying goes, but maybe Harman’s day in the sun/rain/howling wind wasn’t as surprising as some pundits have been making out.

The diminutive left-hander will now enter the discussion about a Ryder Cup place – a mouth-watering prospect ahead in September, but first comes the race to crown a FedEx Cup champion.

There’s two regular season events – starting with this week’s 3M Open – prior to the FedEx Cup playoffs themselves, so time is running out for players to power their way into the revised top 70 in the standings, a smaller number than usual that has changed the entire landscape of the annual end-of-season showdown.

The first job is to make some birdies at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota this week. The 3M Open has typically been the playground of big-hitting birdie machines, with the likes of Tony Finau, Cameron Champ and Matthew Wolff taking the spoils here in the last four years.

Cameron Young fits that profile – he heads the betting this week, and rightfully so if he can shake off the short game malaise that scuppered his tilt at the British Open title. Finau returns to defend, while the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im and Sepp Straka will be hoping to add more silverware to their collection.

Winners at the 3M Open have opened up with the sportsbooks at 18/1, 80/1, 125/1 and 125/1 respectively, so there’s ample opportunity for outsiders to shine – as long as they are long and make plenty of birdies, as already alluded to.

Wide fairways and a lack of hazards (barring plenty of water for the most errant) should make scoring nice and easy, while a benign but very hot weather forecast could ensure that the surfaces at TPC Twin Cities run very fast. Even so, the generous size of the greens should not lead to too many problems.

With all of this in mind, who makes the grade in our 2023 3M Open sleeper shortlist?

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Aaron Rai – 50/1 – Regular readers of our content will know we’ve been on a rollercoaster ride with Aaron Rai – from missed cuts to top-10s.

The next step in his development is to contend for a title, and perhaps TPC Twin Cities is the ideal venue. Ranking inside the TOUR’s top-50 for SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, Greens in Regulation and Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders, Rai certainly has the ball-striking credentials we’re looking for this week.

His micro form is pretty good too, with a missed cut at the Scottish Open the only blemish of late that includes two top-10s (Rocket Mortgage Classic, Canadian Open) and T24 at the Travelers Championship.

Lucas Glover – 55/1 – There is a lot to like about Lucas Glover’s game right now – not least T4, solo fifth and T6 finishes in his last three PGA TOUR starts. This is a guy that is red hot.

The reason is simple: Glover’s putting has finally caught up with his outstanding ball-striking, and at a venue where his shoddy chipping stroke won’t be taxed too much, we have to be confident in Glover’s ability to set up birdie opportunities.

Although not the longest hitter, Glover still gains plenty of strokes off the tee – hitting from the fairway more often than not, he can then let his exemplary iron and wedge game shine.

Eric Cole – 55/1 – The biggest fly in the ointment for Eric Cole is almost always driving, given that he lacks length and accuracy off the tee.

But he is gaining huge numbers on approach of late, and a rank of 22 on TOUR for SG: Putting tells its own tale.

A handful of top-10s this season and T15 at the PGA Championship confirm Cole’s progress, and he’s another player who will be thinking that a win on the PGA TOUR is not far away if he continues to perform to these levels.

Taylor Pendrith – 60/1 – Having played the Barbasol and Barracuda pair of alternative events in recent weeks, Taylor Pendrith may be thinking that he missed an opportunity to land a maiden PGA TOUR title.

The Canadian knocked on the door at the Barbasol with a solo sixth finish – his fifth top-20 of a season that has perhaps not delivered the highs expected.

But the Canadian is gaining strokes off-the-tee and on approach at the minute – particularly at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where his irons and wedges were sublime, and the generous fairways at TPC Twin Cities will enable him to get fully value for his occasionally erratic length. 

Garrick Higgo – 80/1 – An excellent driver of a golf ball that has shown little else this season, Garrick Higgo is starting to trend in the right direction courtesy of improvements on approach and on the greens.

T19 and T21 finishes at the Scottish Open and John Deere Classic offer encouragement for a player who is no stranger to competing well in birdie fests, while his prodigious length off the tee will offer an edge at TPC Twin Cities, as we have learned.

Once feted as one of the brightest young talents in world golf, a bomber’s venue like the one the players will be exposed to this week should provide Higgo with a chance to remind the sport of his game.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the 3M Open here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

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