With White starting camp on the PUP list, the Patriots are looking at other options at third-down back and Strong could be a ‘perfect fit.’
Reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay leads the field in Detroit as the PGA TOUR inches closer to crowning the champion of this season’s FedExCup. FIELD NOTES: Cantlay, who’s ranked fourth in the world, is the highest-ranked player teeing it up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic… Rookie of the Year frontrunner Cameron Young, who’s 13th in the FedExCup, returns to action after his runner-up at The Open… Young, Will Zalatoris, and Sahith Theegala are all up-and-coming stars in the field who have been knocking on the door as they seek their first PGA TOUR victory… Other notables heading to Detroit include Tony Finau, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Harris English… Rickie Fowler will be teeing it up and needs a good finish to lock up a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. He entered the 3M Open, where he made the cut, ranked 129th in the FedExCup standings… Among the sponsor exemptions are Wesley Bryan and Geoff Ogilvy, the former U.S. Open champ who recently made his first TOUR start since 2018… Haskins Award winner Chris Gotterup, this year’s collegiate player of the year, makes his seventh TOUR start since turning pro, which includes a T4 at the John Deere Classic… Cole Hammer tees it up on TOUR for the second time since turning pro, and amateur Michael Thorbjornsen is back on TOUR for the first time since finishing fourth at the Travelers Championship. All three of the young stars are also in the field via sponsor exemptions… Stephan Jaeger, No.125 on the FedExCup standings entering the 3M Open, is teeing it up in Detroit and looking for a solid finish to cement his Playoffs position… Eleven major champions are in the field. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Detroit Golf Club (North course), par 72, 7,370 yards (yardage subject to change). This club, which is more than a century old, was updated for the TOUR’s initial arrival in 2019. The back nine has proven to be drama-filled. Cam Davis made an eagle and a birdie on his final two holes to get into a playoff with Joaquin Niemann and Troy Merritt last year, which Davis went on to win. STORYLINES: The Rocket Mortgage Classic is the penultimate event of the Regular Season. Georgia product Greyson Sigg is on the outside looking in at No. 126 in the FedExCup standings entering the 3M Open, six points back of Stephen Jaeger. TOUR winners Jason Day and Nick Taylor are amongst the guys on the bubble along with Kramer Hickok at No. 124 and Puerto Rico Open winner Ryan Brehm at No. 121. The TOUR will head to the Wyndham Championship for the season finale next week… Cameron Young appears to be due for a win. He has four second-place results this season and is looking for a big breakthrough this week in Detroit. Two of the three winners at the Rocket Mortgage were first-time TOUR champions… Both of those winners, Nate Lashley and Cam Davis, are back in action in Detroit. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Nate Lashley (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Nate Lashley (2019, first round), J.T. Poston (2019, second round), Davis Thompson (2021, first round) LAST TIME: Cam Davis won for the first time on the PGA TOUR and he did it in dramatic fashion – defeating Troy Merritt on the fifth hole of a playoff. Davis shot a final-round 67 and finished at 18 under for the week alongside Merritt and Joaquin Niemann. Niemann – who had a chance to win in regulation but couldn’t get his final-hole birdie to fall – dropped out of the playoff after making bogey on the first extra hole. Davis couldn’t convert any potential tournament-winning putts (he had opportunities on each of the playoff holes) but won the championship after Merritt bogeyed the fifth extra hole. Davis sprinted to the finish Sunday in Detroit, holing a 50-foot eagle from the sand on the 17th hole Sunday and adding a birdie on the par-4 18th. The week prior to the five-hole playoff at the Rocket Mortgage the TOUR had an eight-hole playoff at the Travelers Championship. Hank Lebioda and Alex Noren, who shot an 8-under 64 Sunday for the round of the day, finished tied for fourth. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes
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BLAINE, Minn. — Scott Piercy shot a 5-under 66 at rain-soaked TPC Twin Cities on Saturday in round that was delayed more than 6 1/2 hours to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the 3M Open. Playing through a painful blister on his right heel, the 43-year-old Piercy had a 18-under 195 total. He has four PGA TOUR victories. “I’ve had my struggles and to like prove and show that I can still do it and can do it is a big confidence boost,” Piercy said. Emiliano Grillo was second after a 67. Tony Finau and Doug Ghim were tied for third, five strokes back. They each shot 65. Play was suspended for 6 hours, 38 minutes. Tee times were moved up and the field played off split tees in threesomes, however play was suspended at 10:57 a.m. and didn’t resume until 5:35 p.m. Piercy played through the blister that he said developed yesterday after wearing a new pair of shoes. After opening with two pars, Piercy birdied the next five holes before play was suspended. The run began with an 18-foot putt on the par-4 third. . Piercy converted the next four birdies, all with putts inside 15 feet. It was only after that the pain from the blister crept in, so much so that he took off his shoe in between every shot up until the 14th hole. “When you walk that weird, your body kind of adjusts, so putting the shoe back up on and trying to get set up over it correctly,” Piercy said. “I felt like I couldn’t get into my setup like I normally do and I felt that’s like where a couple of the loose shots came from, along with the tiredness.” Piercy was even par over his final 11 holes, making a bogey on the par-5 18th. He went for the green in two and hit short into the water. It’s the sixth time Piercy has held at least a share of the 54-hole lead, the last coming at the 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He’s won two of those events, the 2011 Barracuda Championship and the 2015 Barbasol Championship. His last victory came in the 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teamed with Billy Horschel. Grillo eagled the par-5 sixth hole for the second day in a row. “If (Piercy) brings half of his game from today to tomorrow, that’s going to be very tough,” Grillo said.
BLAINE, Minn. – Greyson Sigg expects to compete in the FedExCup Playoffs. It goes back to the level of self-belief that led him to a sparkling 2020-21 season on the Korn Ferry Tour, recording two wins among 19 top-25 finishes en route to Rookie of the Year honors. He also knows that Playoffs spots are not given, but earned, and that his attitude had perhaps limited his potential across his rookie PGA TOUR season. He arrived at this week’s 3M Open at No. 126 on the FedExCup standings, one of the proverbial bubble boys into the final three events of the regular season. Sigg’s play this week displays a desire to play his way off the bubble. He carded a third-round, 7-under 64 at TPC Twin Cities – across a mid-round weather delay of 6 hours, 38 minutes – to move into a tie for sixth into Sunday in Minnesota. That finish would project him to No. 105 in the FedExCup standings, essentially securing a Playoffs berth. “Just trying to not get down on yourself,” said Sigg of the challenges of his rookie TOUR season, which included a string of five consecutive missed cuts in May and June. “It’s a frustrating game. It’s a hard game … working on my attitude a little bit, and I feel like that has improved a lot this week as well.” The 3M Open marks the third-to-last event of the PGA TOUR regular season, with the top-125 players on the FedExCup upon the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship to earn Playoffs berths and fully exempt status on TOUR in 2022-23. Several players in the mix into Sunday at TPC Twin Cities are aiming to play their way into the Playoffs, including 54-hole leader Scott Piercy. The four-time TOUR winner entered the week at No. 138 in the FedExCup standings, having recorded five top-25s to this point in the season but still searching for his first top-10. Things look to be coming together at the right time for Piercy, who entered Saturday with a three-shot lead and carded 5-under 66 to extend that margin to four. “It means a lot,” said Piercy of being in this position. “I’ve had my struggles, and to prove and show that I can still do it is a big confidence boost.” Some chasers are looking to make the Playoffs for the first time, like England’s Callum Tarren. After earning his first TOUR card through the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, less than a month after the birth of his first child, Tarren didn’t make his first cut until The Honda Classic in February. The 31-year-old has built his confidence through results. He has made 10 cuts in his last 15 starts, including a pair of top-six finishes, and played in Saturday’s final threesome at TPC Twin Cities. He stands T13 into the final round, having entered the week at No. 144 on the FedExCup and projected to move to No. 134. “It would be incredible,” said Tarren of the prospect of making the Playoffs. “That was one of my goals from the start of the season, and after eight events, missing eight cuts in a row didn’t look very promising. I always knew my game’s good enough. “I don’t look at (the numbers) on the golf course, because in one hole you can go from being inside the number to being outside the number. I think a good, solid week this week will take care of things.” Others like Doug Ghim are striving for a repeat Playoffs appearance. The University of Texas alum earned his first TOUR card in dramatic fashion via the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, draining a crucial 8-foot par on the 72nd hole followed by a Tiger-esque fist pump. Ghim, 26, missed the Playoffs in his rookie TOUR season at No. 184 on the FedExCup, but eligibility was extended for another season due to COVID-19. He took advantage with a No. 83 finish on last year’s FedExCup, and he began this week at No. 117 on the standings. Ghim carded a third-round 65 at TPC Twin Cities to move into a tie for third, which projects him to No. 84 on the FedExCup. “It’s been a frustrating one a lot, because I feel like a lot of the improvements I made as a player haven’t really been reflected obviously in the FedExCup and statistically and whatnot,” said Ghim of his season so far. “But I know where my game is trending and I’ve been knocking on the door and just maybe one bad round or a couple of bad holes away and just been trying to be really patient. “It’s a pretty good time of year to start finding the groove and starting to put my name in the hat coming down the stretch. I know that this is what I was capable of all year, but it’s fun to finally be in stride at this time of year.” Every shot counts in the race to the FedExCup. This time of year, the scarcity of opportunity just magnifies that knowledge. “It would mean a lot,” said Sigg of making the Playoffs. “I don’t really expect anything else. I expect a lot of myself, and I look forward to doing that in the next couple of weeks.”
