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Vincenzi: 2023 3M Open First Round Leader picks

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The PGA Tour makes its return to TPC Twin Cities to play the 2023 3M Open. The course features some wide fairways, but there’s also plenty of danger on the course as well, with water all over the course. Players who bomb it off the tee have won on three of the four occasions the tournament has been played, but players can also contend with sharp iron play and hot putting.

In the past four editions of the 3M Open, there have been eight first-round leaders or co-leaders. Of the eight, four started their rounds in the morning wave, and four started in the afternoon. Five of the eight first-round leaders have started on the first hole and three have started on the 10th.

As of now, the winds don’t look to favor any starting time. The wind will be blowing 6-12 MPH all day with gust about 16-20 MPH.

2023 3M Open First-Round Leader Picks

Nicolai Hojgaard +6000 (FanDuel)

First-Round Tee Time: 2:22 p.m. CT

Nicolai Hojgaard is coming off of a Open Championship where he played really well but didn’t feel the weight of contending over the weekend. He gained strokes both off the tee and on approach and his power and style of play should suit TPC Twin Cities nicely.

In his past 24 measured rounds, Hojgaard ranks 6th in Birdie or Better Gained, 14th in Eagles Gained and 14th in Opportunities Gained.

Nicolai gives us an afternoon tee time to chase the lead late on Thursday.

Chesson Hadley +9000 (FanDuel)

First-Round Tee Time: 8:24 a.m. CT

Chesson Hadley typically gets hot around this time of year and showed that he may be starting to gain some form at last week’s Barracuda Championship. Chesson finished in a tie for 6th at the event and was especially good on Sunday. He shot a 65 and had five birdies and an eagle.

Hadley also has had some success at TPC Twin Cities, including a 10th place finish last year. He opened the week with three consecutive rounds in the 60’s before struggling on Sunday.

The 36-year-old’s streaky nature and ability to catch fire on the greens make him an ideal first-round-leader play this week.

Chez Reavie +9000 (FanDuel)

First-Round Tee Time: 7:18 a.m. CT

Chez Reavie has been playing great golf over the past month and has gained at least three strokes on approach in each of his past four measured starts. He also does a lot of things well that I look for in a first-round-leader bet. In his past 24 rounds, Chez ranks in the top 20 in this field in: Strokes Gained: Putting (18th), Eagles Gained (16th) and Oppurtunites Gained (6th).

Reavie finished 11th here in 2021 and can get his irons hot enough to overcome his lack of power off the tee.

James Hahn +11000 (FanDuel)

First-Round Tee Time: 8:13 a.m. CT

James Hahn found himself deep in contention at last year’s 3M Open. He shot a 65 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 4th place. For the week, he gained 6.3 strokes on approach and 5.5 strokes putting.

Hahn is another player who played well at last week’s Barracuda Championship. He opened with an impressive round that included three birdies and two eagles and was a +14 for the round (Stableford scoring).

Hahn will be looking to carry the momentum from his strong performance into a hot start at the 3M Open.

Marty Dou +12500 (FanDuel)

First-Round Tee Time: 8:35 a.m. CT

Marty Dou showed his talent at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, finishing 17th and posting four rounds in the 60’s. Dou ranks 5th in the field in his past 24 rounds in Birdie or Better: Gained and can get hot in a hurry.

The 26-year-old is the type of golfer who can go really low at any given time. That was once again on display at last week’s Barracuda Championship, where he shot the round of the day on Friday (+16 Stableford). His round included seven birdies and an eagle.

Dou can use his scoring ability to post a low one on Thursday at TPC Twin Cities.

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19th Hole

Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam

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While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.

On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.

“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.

“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”

The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.

It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.

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Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career

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While speaking with KW Golf, golf legend Gary Player said that he believes swing coaches ruined the career of Tiger Woods.

“The US Open at Pebble Beach, he won by 15 shots. You know what that’s like? It’s like running the 100 meters in seven seconds. The next week, he’s having a lesson from a man who, I don’t think, if he played in the Masters, could break 80.”

“And then he goes to another guy who couldn’t probably break 85 in the Masters with the pressure, or the British Open or the PGA on the final day. And he’s having lessons from them.”

“Why did Tiger do that? He was so good, but I understand he wanted to get better,” Player went on. “If he had just gone along and never changed, he would have won at least 22.. He would’ve gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen.”

In 2008, Woods had won 14 majors and was 33 years old. It would take him eleven years to win his 15th at the 2019 Masters.

In addition to the swing coach issue, there are many other issues throughout the career of Woods that golf fans will look back on and wonder “what if.”

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Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

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After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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