A number of golfers have returned to form since the restart of the PGA Tour and the latest to hit his straps was Jon Rahm. Following a subdued run of form, the Spaniard was back to his best last week and not even a penalty on the final day could stop Rahm from claiming the Memorial Tournament.
Rahm may be sitting it out this week but, while we have a more modest field for the 3M Open 2020, it could be time to look beyond the obvious predictions and picks to find some value down the field.
It’s tight at the top of the 3M betting odds markets with the top rated sportbooks for US residents. Four players are within a few points of each other: Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka are closely bunched. DJ is 11/1 favorite with Bovada Offshore Bookmaker while the other trio are on 14/1. Johnson came through for us with a return at the Travelers Championship but followed that up with a pair of 80s last week.
Koepka has been routinely letting us down in recent weeks while Finau returned to form with a solo eighth on Sunday. Fleetwood makes a tentative return to action while fellow Brit Paul Casey is a 20/1 shot.
USAbetting could make a case for any of those five but the 3M Open betting lines are not backed up by the Power Rankings, which place the defending champion near the top of the pile.
Matthew Wolff’s (22/1) breakthrough win at the inaugural 3M Open led to a promising year and while form is mixed, he will be a contender in a weakened field. Casey has been involved on Tour but poor form, including a missed cut last week means that you may not have noticed.
Moving through the field, Harris English, Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson are all locked at the same 33/1 win price in places. English looks to be a surprising inclusion at the very top of the Power Rankings this week. He is consistent and has a good all-round game and a tie for 13th at the Memorial Tournaments suggests that he may be peaking in time.
Also included in the chasers this week are Sam Burns, Doc Redman and Luke List. They are competent golfers and List had a good showing at Muirfield Village but their relatively lofty positions in the markets are indicative of the weaker field.
This is a week where some long-range bets will be considered and one name that stands out from the outside pack is Ryan Moore (50/1). He has five wins on Tour and, while the last of these came in 2016, he was much higher up the markets last season.
Charley Hoffman (80/1) is another name that will jump off the page for some golf bettors. Having tied for 7th at the Workday Charity Open, Hoffman took a rest and like Ryan Moore, he looks a good pick for the top 10 finish betting lines.
Others to consider from long range include Alex Noren, Dylan Frittelli, Max Homa, Jhonattan Vegas and Troy Merritt. All have been in contention in various tournaments since the start of last season and this is the type of field that could allow them to rise back to the top.
Our Preview’s 3M Open 2020 Predictions & Picks with Course & Betting Trends
There has been only one previous running of the 3M Open which is being held at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. It’s a par 72 course with a modest length of 7,164 yards so there shouldn’t be too much of an advantage for the distance hitters. Stats from last year aren’t that helpful as they return some mixed results. For example, Corey Conners and Kevin Streelman both led the way for Greens in Regulation but Streelman finished 34th and Conners 46th.
The champion Matthew Wolff ranked sixth in GIR and 31st in fairways hit. Wolff did, however, lead the way in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green but those stats should start to level out and provide more of an indicator as the tournament beds in.
It’s the type of week where you may want to leave the outright winner alone and look for the prop bets as they come out. The favorites, Johnson, Koepka and Finau, are highly ranked but don’t necessarily have the form to back up their market positions.
This 3M Open golf preview is more confident of our top ten picks this week and, in terms of the winner, USAbetting will take a chance on Bubba Watson. Form has been mixed for the powerful left hander but he is another player who can benefit from the weakened field traveling to Minnesota. His tie for 32nd at the weekend followed two missed cuts so this is a gamble but Bubba has the game and the resolve to keep improving and to move up the leaderboard. These are the 2020 3M Open predictions for this preview:
- Bubba Watson to win at +4250 (over 42/1) with Bookmaker. That is a standout price and may not last long as he is +3300 (33/1) with Bovada, Intertops & BetOnline and as short as 22/1 with 5Dimes.
- Top 10 finish picks: Watson (+275), Paul Casey (+225), Ryan Moore (+450) and Charley Hoffman (+550), all those odds are with Bovada Sportsbook.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.