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The 3M Open begins Thursday at TPC Twin Cities.

World No. 2 Dustin Johnson and No. 9 Louis Oosthuizen are among the players who have made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean after competing in The Open Championship last week. While they are among the favorites, this is a critical event for many in the field with only three weeks of events before the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.



Tournament notes, betting odds and best bets:

THE 3M OPEN

• Course: TPC Twin Cities (Par 71, 7,431 yards)
• Purse: $6.6M (Winner: $1.188)
• Defending Champion: Michael Thompson
• FedEx Cup leader: Patrick Cantlay

HOW TO WATCH

• TV: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
• PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday 7:45 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday-Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3-6 p.m. (Featured Holes).

NOTES

Dustin Johnson lost his No. 1 ranking to Jon Rahm this week and seeks his first victory since the Masters in November.

Other notable names in the field include former major champions Charl Schwartzel, Jason Dufner, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Stewart Cink, Sergio Garcia and Lucas Glover.

Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker is in the field rather than playing in the Senior Open Championship.

Sponsors exemptions include college stars Quade Cummins, Ryan Hall, John Pak and Angus Flanagan.

The event is planning to allow full fan capacity.

TPC Twin Cities was originally designed by Arnold Palmer, with Minnesota native Tom Lehman serving as a player consultant.

BEST BETS

• Johnson (+700 at PointsBet) has only two top-10s in 2021 but is coming off a T8 at The Open despite a 73 on Saturday. He is backed by 4.3 percent of the outright winner bets and 6.84 percent of the money at the sportsbook.
• Louis Oosthuizen (+1400) is still seeking his first win on U.S. soil and coming off a third straight disappointing major finish. He is making his event debut and has four top-10s in his past six starts, but is not among the top five most-bet players PointsBet.
• Tony Finau (+1400) broke out of a minor slump with a T15 at The Open and tied for third here last year. He is third with 5.32 percent of the bets backing him at PointsBet.

• Watson (+2800) has to withdraw from The Open due to COVID-19 protocols. He is being backed by 4.94 percent of the bet and 8.22 percent of the money this week.
• Matthew Wolff (+3000) chose not to play at The Open, but won the inaugural 3M Open in 2019 and tied for 12th last year.
• Robert MacIntyre (+3300) posted the best weekend score at The Open by two shots. The young Scot has yet to win in the United States but he did tie for ninth at the Match Play event and tied for 12th at the Masters.

• Hank Lebioda (+5000) offers longshot odds as he enters with a streak of three consecutive top-10s. He recent form has led Lebioda to leading the field along with Wolff with 7.97 percent of the total bets at PointsBet apiece. Lebioda is also being backed by 7.55 percent of the money, making him the book’s second biggest liability.
• Rickie Fowler (+5000) hasn’t won since 2019 and dropped as low as 128th in the world earlier this year. He has scratched his way back to 104th and is coming off a T53 at The Open. Fowler is the biggest liability for PointsBet, where he is second in the field with 9.82 percent of the outright winner money placed on him.

–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)