Erica Dischino | Star Tribune by means of AP Scott Piercy hits the ball on the 18th gap throughout the opening spherical of the 3M Open golf event on the Match Gamers Membership in Blaine, Minnesota, on Thursday.
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) – Scott Piercy shot a 6-under 65 to share the 3M Open chief with Sungjae Im after Thursday’s first spherical.
Tony Finau was two laps behind, with virtually three birdie putt misses over his final 4 holes, together with Brice Garnett, Doug Ghim, Emiliano Grillo and Tom Hoge.
On a dry, windy day with 86 levels at TPC Twin Cities within the suburbs of Minneapolis, the inclination of the course to get low scores was maintained once more.
Enjoying within the second group of the day exterior the primary tee, Piercy made 151 ft of putts. He made 4 birds out of the primary 5 holes on the again 9.
Piercy, 43, who led the 3M Open in 2019 with two strokes after the primary spherical, is certainly one of a number of gamers on the sector this yr in search of a rise on the finish of the season within the FedEx Cup race. Piercy reached Minnesota in 138th place, with a playoff minimize to 125 and two occasions left after that to qualify. In 4 of his final six begins, Piercy has didn’t advance over the weekend.
Within the 2009 event, Piercy has 4 profession victories. Simply final week, he modified his caddy, swing coach, driver and putter – a sequence of choices that had been unusually drastic for him.
“Each shot counts and it is time to let go of your buckle”, stated Piercy. “It isn’t that we do not attempt to give in on a regular basis, however I feel there’s an additional strap. It is very good to start out like this. “
Im, who ranks 19th within the FedEx Cup rankings and 24th on the earth, has performed 4 of his final six holes. The 24-year-old from South Korea positioned eighth on the Masters this yr, however completed 81st final week on the British Open.
Finau, the one member of the US Ryder Cup group final yr and the 17th ranked participant on the earth, has two ranked within the top-5 this summer season.
The Utah participant missed a Three-foot chicken putt on 15 and left a Four-foot chicken putt simply brief on 16. Then on the 18th, his house and strategy kicks had been excellent, however a chicken putt Eight-foot got here out and settled down. Four inches cup. Making two of the three would put him within the lead.
Probably the most dominating Hideki Matsuyama participant was certainly Hideki Matsuyama.
He cited a wrist ache after pulling a 77 to match the worst spherical of the season, his Saturday on the Masters on April ninth.
Coming into the eighth place within the FedEx Cup race and the world quantity 14 participant this week, Matsuyama hit the 18th unforgiving gap on the lake shore thrice within the water and took a bogey quadruple 9. Matsuyama, Masters winner 2021 and a fourth – completed on the US Open this summer season, tied for seventh place on the first version of 3M Open in 2019.
Mardy Fish, a former tennis star who performs on a sponsor’s exemption, was tied for 81st.
