The 2026 3M Open kicked off on Thursday at TPC Twin Cities, with several golfers showcasing their skills on the course. Scottie Scheffler, who has held the world No. 1 ranking for nearly 200 weeks, caught fire on the greens, shooting a 6-under 65. This impressive score puts him just three strokes behind the first-round leader, Ben Kohles, who continued his summer success with a 9-under 62.
Kohles, who has been splitting time between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour, has positioned himself to move up the FedEx Cup standings. After a heartbreaking loss at the John Deere Classic, Kohles decided to keep pushing on the PGA Tour, where he stands at No. 8 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings thanks to a win in June. At No. 100 in the PGA Tour’s season-long race, Kohles needs a monumental effort over the next three weeks to keep his playoff hopes alive. Thursday at TPC Twin Cities was the start he needed, as he gained more than five strokes on the field on approach en route to a career day.
Kohles expressed his confidence in his game, stating, ‘After John Deere, I think I talked to my team, and feel like I put myself in position to play out here as much as I can. If I don’t make the FedExCup Playoffs in the next three weeks, there’s still a chance for me to play the last six Korn Ferry [events]. With the start that I’ve gotten and how I’m sitting there, confident in myself that I can still get it done, even skipping some weeks here and there. Yeah, my main focus is I’m not really worried about that at all and trying to make the top-70.’
Scheffler, on the other hand, is looking to break his nearly 200-day drought without a win. He credited his success to his improved putting, stating, ‘Fresh greens are a little bit easier than like links greens. Part of playing links golf is the ball’s not going to roll true every single time. Felt like I was just on the wrong end of that last week. Got here and made sure I was lined up where I thought it was and made sure I was hitting it on that line, and that was about it.’
The 20-time PGA Tour winner is now tied with Lucas Glover, Michael Brennan, Kevin Roy, and Jesper Svensson at 6 under. Scheffler’s birdie conversions came from 15 feet on No. 12, 17 feet on No. 18, 15 feet on No. 1, 30 feet on No. 4, 3 feet on No. 6, and a 10-footer on the par-4 7th. He kept the scorecard clean thanks to a timely 18-foot par save on No. 15 as well.
Other contenders in the tournament include Jackson Koivun, Gary Woodland, and Emiliano Grillo, who are all tied at 7 under. Koivun, a 21-year-old golfer, matched his career-low round on the PGA Tour with a 64, which is his second consecutive top-10 finish. He took the lid off the hole immediately with a 10-foot birdie conversion on the par-4 1st and added makes from 41 feet, 15 feet, and 12 feet by the time he made the turn.
The 2026 3M Open leaderboard is shaping up to be an exciting competition, with several golfers vying for the top spot. As the tournament progresses, it will be interesting to see how Scheffler and the other contenders perform.
The updated odds for the tournament are as follows: Scottie Scheffler at +160, Ben Kohles at 6-1, Jackson Koivun at 9-1, Gary Woodland at 14-1, Emiliano Grillo at 17-1, Michael Brennan at 23-1, and Lucas Glover at 30-1. It will be interesting to see how these odds change as the tournament progresses.
