Cut prediction: The Honda Classic

No more majors, no more invitationals and no more additional events. From now until the conclusion of the regular season, it’s nothing but fastballs right down the middle. See ‘em, hit ‘em and score. RELATED: Play Pick ‘Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field The 3M Open is the first of three consecutive, 156-man opens that serve as the home stretch to determine the 125 qualifiers for the FedExCup Playoffs, and TPC Twin Cities is ready. Scroll past the projected contenders for what it likely will require to contend, an analysis of the host course and more. POWER RANKINGS: 3M OPEN Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day and defending champion Cameron Champ will be among those reviewed in Draws and Fades. TPC Twin Cities is in its fourth year as host of the 3M Open. It’s a par 71 with three par 5s. After surrendering scoring averages below 70 in its first two spins, last year’s field checked in at 70.44 with all four rounds within 0.13 strokes in either direction of that average. Calling that statistically even wouldn’t be inaccurate, and it’s what anyone involved in any competition would want. Drilling too deep into why scoring was higher overall isn’t encouraged given that variables including hole locations and makeups of fields vary. However, there was a odd correlation to how last year’s field hit fewer greens (but still at a clip of 70.38 percent) and converted with less frequency on those chances and inside 10 feet (again, anomalies, if barely). Yet, because the champion will conclude four rounds at double digits under par, what yields that scoring is fortified as the game plan – to pile up scoring opportunities and sink putts. At 7,431 yards, TPC Twin Cities tests the same as it has since 2020, although the longest rough is up to four inches this week. That reflects a rise of half an inch. Bentgrass greens averaging 6,500 square feet again are poised to reach 12½ feet on the Stimpmeter. The tournament will open to potentially breezy air, but it will be dry and warm. Daytime temperatures will climb into the mid- and upper-80s throughout, while the impactful threat for inclement weather is forecast to hold off until Saturday. It will extend into Sunday’s scheduled conclusion. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Draws & Fades WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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Brooks Koepka caught plenty of flak for posing for ESPN’s Body Issue, and possibly compromising his chances in the Players in the process. But after another major win and three close calls this year, Koepka’s priorities are clear.

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OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — Even with so few people around, Jon Rahm could hear from the other side of the Olympia Fields clubhouse that Dustin Johnson had made a 45-foot birdie on the final hole to force a playoff Sunday in the BMW Championship. Resilient as ever, Rahm went out and made some magic of his own. RELATED: FedExCup standings | Leaderboard | What’s in Rahm’s bag? From one end of the 18th green to the other, Rahm’s putt from just over 65 feet rolled down the ridge and into the cup, setting off a roar so loud it nearly made up for not having spectators. “I knew how good DJ has been playing. I was expecting nothing else,” Rahm said. “I was fully confident it was going to come into a playoff and hoping to win it. Never did I think I would make another 50-, 60-footer, a couple of breaks in there, to end up winning it.” Johnson remained No. 1 in the FedExCup standings while Rahm moved up to No. 2 as the TOUR Championship begins this week. Rahm’s big birdie putt on the first extra hole spared him thoughts of his blunder in the third round, when he picked up his ball on the fifth green without marking it, leading to a one-shot penalty and his only bogey of the weekend. He tore through the back nine Sunday on his way to a 6-under 64, the lowest round of the week, to finish at 4-under 276. Johnson, a 54-hole leader for his third straight tournament and coming off an 11-shot victory last week at the TPC Boston, birdied three of his opening four holes to open a three-shot lead, dropped a pair of shots around the turn and then delivered in the clutch with his 45-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 67. Joaquin Niemann, the 21-year-old from Chile, also made a spirited run with a 67 and was in the lead until a bogey on the 14th and no birdies the rest of the way. He tied for third with Hideki Matsuyama, who had a 69. Tony Finau closed with a 65 to finish three behind. They were the only five players under par at Olympia Fields. Rahm won for the second time this year on the PGA TOUR, and the 11th time in his career worldwide. Mackenzie Hughes had reason to celebrate, too. He was on the verge of playing his way into the top 30 who advance to East Lake when he took a sloppy bogey on the 17th. Needing a par on the 18th, he put his approach into the front bunker, splashed out to 5 feet and raised both arms when it dropped. Niemann also moved into the top 30, though he was chasing victory all day. Adam Long and Kevin Streelman were bumped out, and Long suffered the worst of those fates. He was projected 30th in the FedExCup until Corey Conners three-putted from 5 feet for double bogey on the final hole. That allowed Billy Horschel to move up enough spots on the leaderboard to move to the 30th and final spot by three points over Long. The top 30 are assured spots in at least three majors next year, along with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start the year. The winners-only event is taking the top 30 in the FedExCup from having lost three months of the season to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiger Woods missed all the action. He made double bogey on his 17th hole for a 71, making this the first time he was over par in all four rounds of a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2010. Woods failed to reach the TOUR Championship for the second straight year. He now gets two weeks off before the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and Olympia Fields proved to be a good test for that.

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