The 2016 Rio Olympics have had a major impact on the golf schedule with two major PGA tournaments over the last three weeks. The summer games have also impacted the schedule for the Champions Tour with the 3M Championship moved up to this week. Although the Champions League isn’t often in the spotlight, it will be this week. On the PGA circuit, there is the Travelers Championship but most of the big names are skipping that event. Bubba Watson is the favorite to win there. As for the women, they are also off this week as many of them prepare to go to Brazil for the Olympic Games. That means more eyeballs and action on the Champions Tour this week than most other weeks.
The best pro golfers over 50-years-old will make their way to Blaine, Minnesota and the TPC of the Twin Cities for this week’s event with $1.75 million in prize money up for grabs.
Event Details
Event: 3M Championship
Category: Champions
Date: August 5-7
Location: TPC of the Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota
25-time PGA Tour winner Kenny Hill followed up a brilliant performance winning this tournament in 2014 with another strong result in 2015 to become a back-to-back champion at the 3M Championship. Perry will be among the betting favorites to extend his streak this week but surprisingly he will not be the odds-on favorite.
Past Five Winners
2015: Kenny Perry -18
2014: Kenny Perry -23
2013: Tom Pernice Jr. -17
2012: Bernhard Langer -18
2011: Jay Haas -15
What To Know About The Course
The Arnold Palmer-designed TPC Twin Cities has hosted this tournament every year since 2001 and there is every to expect more of the same 15 years later with plenty of low scoring results. Each of the last nine winners here has posted a score of 15-under or better including the 25-under winning score posted by David Frost back in 2010. Accuracy and Putting will once again be the key statistics to look out for and we will definitely be drawing on experience when it comes to this week’s event.
The Field
The fact that Perry hasn’t been listed as the sports betting favorite to win this event is somewhat of a surprise given his history here but there is some intriguing talent at the top of the sportsbook board. Miguel Angel Jimenez has registered four straight top-five finishes on the Champions Tour including a win at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic back in April so it makes sense that his form earned him the role of betting favorite to win outright at +400 odds. Bernhard Langer, Scott McCarron and Colin Montgomerie are the other three golfers listed ahead of Perry according to the betting odds, which we will use to our advantage when it comes to finding value for this week’s event.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Kenny Perry over Colin Montgomerie
Mongtomerie is coming off consecutive top-25 finishes on the Champions Tour but he has registered only two top-10 finishes this season including a fourth-place finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic that is his best result of the year so far. Montgomerie should deliver a strong performance but we don’t buy the idea that he deserves to be listed ahead of Perry in terms of the sportsbook betting odds. Perry has posted a combined 41-under in his last two starts at this tournament and we expect another contending performance as he finishes ahead of Montgomerie this week.
Top-Five Pick: Miguel Angel Jimenez
No player has been more consistent on the Champions Tour this season than Jimenez, who has finished 11th or better in every single start including four top-five results. We have no problem putting our money down on him to continue that run this week as a +400 betting pick to win this tournament outright with an expectation that he will at the very least finish in the top-five while contending for his second Champions Tour victory of the season.
Top 10 Odds To Win The 3M Championship
Miguel Angel Jimenez +405
Bernhard Langer +405
Scott McCarron +1150
Colin Montgomerie +1250
Kenny Perry +1550
Joe Durant +1650
Billy Andrade +1850
Bart Bryant +2050
Tom Lehman +2550
Wes Short Jr +2550
