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The 2023 3M Open is all wrapped up and Lee Hodges has cruised to a victory thanks to a fourth consecutive magical round of golf around TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota. The 28-year-old, who had no prior form coming into the event, blew away everyone else in the field including the likes of Hideki Matsuyama and Tony Finau to post a phenomenal score of -24.
With his victory in Minnesota, Hodges not only pockets a cool $1.4 million but he also soars into the 33rd place in the FedEx Cup Standings which should see him safely through to the FedEx Cup playoffs at the end of the season. The win will also see Hodges, who only turned professional last year, enter the world’s top 100 while his place on the PGA Tour next season is also now secure.
To say it has been a successful week for Hodges would be an understatement and the embrace he gave his wife on the 18th green just about said it all. Speaking after his victory, the 28-year-old said: “This has been a dream week. I’ve got the best everybody and they work so hard. I couldn’t do it without them. Man, I’m just happy everybody’s here and everybody back home is going insane.”
Final 2023 3M Open Leaderboard
Position/Player | Score | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lee Hodges (USA) | -24 | 63 | 64 | 66 | 67 |
T2 | JT Poston (USA) | -17 | 66 | 66 | 66 | 69 |
T2 | Martin Laird (SCO) | -17 | 68 | 67 | 67 | 64 |
T2 | Kevin Streelman (USA) | -17 | 64 | 68 | 69 | 66 |
T5 | Dylan Wu (USA) | -16 | 70 | 67 | 67 | 64 |
T5 | Keith Mitchell (USA) | -16 | 68 | 66 | 67 | 67 |
T7 | Sam Ryder (USA) | -15 | 70 | 66 | 65 | 68 |
T7 | Tony Finau (USA) | -15 | 66 | 66 | 67 | 70 |
T7 | Aaron Baddeley (AUS) | -15 | 69 | 66 | 65 | 69 |
T10 | Sam Stevens (USA) | -14 | 69 | 69 | 66 | 66 |
How Hodges secured his maiden win
As far as victories go on the PGA Tour, this wire-to-wire win from Lee Hodges was just about as convincing as you are going to get. The 28-year-old only dropped five shots all week and was immaculate until the halfway point on Friday.
“This is his dream. He did it.” ❤️
Lee Hodges and Savannah started dating in high school and eventually got married in 2021.
10 years after their first date, Hodges is now a PGA TOUR champion. pic.twitter.com/hjmUgmS8Cd
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 30, 2023
After three rounds, Hodges had secured himself the 54-hole course record at TPC Twin Cities but would have been wary considering the man whose record he beat, Scott Piercy, also had a commanding lead going into the final day last year before surrendering it to Tony Finau.
This year, Hodges never really gave any of the chasing pack a sniff at the victory over the first eight holes, he had found a birdie and an eagle and although he gave one back on the ninth he reached the turn in a commanding position. Over the course of the back nine, J.T Poston made some kind of move and with three holes to play, he did find himself with a glimmer of hope.
After Poston birdied the 15th, a hole Hodges bogeyed, you could have forgiven the eventual champion if he’d wavered down the stretch. After exchanging a birdie with another bogey over the next two holes the lead was still three on the 18th and Poston went hell for leather in trying to reach the par five in two shots.
Unfortunately for him, his ultra-aggressive approach to the 72nd hole of the week resulted in him carding a double bogey while Hodges went about his business and secured himself a tap-in birdie to win the tournament. In the end, his lead at the top of the leaderboard was seven shots – no less than he deserved after the clinic he had put on over the four days in Minnesota.
One man who may feel he could have done more to challenge on day four is Tony Finau. The three-time champions mounted a five-shot comeback with eleven holes to play in the same tournament at the same golf course last year but struggled to get going on Sunday.
Despite that, a tied seventh finish for Finau should only increase his chances of getting a captain’s pick from Zach Johnson for the upcoming Ryder Cup, especially as Justin Thomas missed the cut once again this week.
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