Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Trent Pruitt

3M Open First-Round Leader Pick: Can Sepp Straka Start Fast?

Sepp Straka lines up a putt on the 18th hole at the Open Championship.

It was an exciting mini-swing to the United Kingdom for the Scottish and British Opens. The PGA Tour returns stateside, and the next stop is Blaine, Minnesota, for the 3M Open. This is the fifth year of the event; however, TPC Twin Cities has been a mainstay on the schedule since 2001. 

Some of the bigger names on the tour are taking the week off, but we still have a respectable field featuring 11 of the world’s top 50 golfers. Some of the notable headliners include defending champion Tony Finau (No. 19), Cameron Young (No. 15), and Justin Thomas (No. 24). 

Young actually enters Thursday’s action as the betting favorite to lead after the first 18 holes (+3000). Following the American is a foursome of players at +3500, including Finau, Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka, and Hideki Matsuyama. Let’s dive into who I’m rolling with to get out to an early lead on Thursday. 

Before we get into our 3M Open picks, make sure to take a moment to check out these awesome sports betting offers for this week. You can use one of the HUGE first bet offers to wager with more confidence on your 2023 3M Open selections this week.

2023 3M Open First-Round Leader Pick

End of Round 1 Leader: Sepp Straka (+4000) (Bet $100 to collect $4,100) FanDuel has the best Sepp Straka odds

Sepp Straka is on a tear right now, and I’m going to lock him in while he’s a hot betting option. The Austrian won the John Deere Classic in early July, and his encore to that was a T2 performance at last weekend’s Open Championship. Heck, if you take away Brian Harman’s Herculean effort at Royal Liverpool, Straka would’ve had a shot to secure his first major victory. 

On top of his great form, the 30-year-old has a history at TPC Twin Cities. He didn’t play the event last year, but his three prior finishes were (from most recently to 2019): MC, T18, MC. Perhaps that’s unsettling, but I think we’ll see a better finish solely based on how well he’s playing right now. Finally, from a statistical standpoint, he’s ranked 20th in driving accuracy at 65.2% this year. That should come in handy, considering the lengthy course and narrower fairways. Let’s take a shot with Straka to lead after the first 18 holes. 

2023 3M Open First-Round Leader Odds

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.