On a day when birdies were flying, Filipino-American Rico Hoey got off to a solid start at the 3M Championship, carding a three-under-par 68 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine on Thursday.
Hoey was steady for most of the round, notching four birdies along the way. But he ran into trouble on the par-4 18th, where his approach shot landed in a bunker. He overshot the green on his recovery, leaving the ball in the rough — but a well-judged chip helped him limit the damage to just a bogey.
He’s currently tied for 53rd and will need another strong round to safely make it to the weekend.
Up top, it was Canadian Adam Svensson who lit up TPC Twin Cities with a sensational 11-under 60, capped by a dramatic 48-foot eagle putt on the final hole to take the solo lead after the first round of the 3M Open.
The 31-year-old Canadian was flawless, rolling in nine birdies and not dropping a single shot. It was the lowest round in the tournament’s seven-year history and tied the course record set by Paul Goydos at the 2017 3M Championship (PGA TOUR Champions).
Svensson’s round included some monster putts — a nearly 40-footer for birdie on 11 and a 34-footer on 4. “I had a great range session today. Just really putted amazing. I made a bunch of breakers. Probably my best putting round ever,” he said after needing just 25 putts all day.
It’s a career-best round for Svensson, whose only TOUR win came at the RSM Classic in 2022. He’s had a quiet season so far, with only one top-25 finish in 21 starts and 11 missed cuts — but Thursday may have signaled a turning point.
Hot on his heels are Sam Stevens and Thorbjørn Olesen at 9-under. Stevens was in 59-watch territory until he went for the green in two on the par-5 18th and found the water, settling for bogey and a 62 — still his lowest score on TOUR. “I figured that was my best chance to shoot 59, so I gave it a go,” Stevens said of his bold decision to hit a 3-iron instead of laying up.
Chris Gotterup, fresh off a third-place finish at The Open and a win at the Scottish Open, sits three shots back alongside Chad Ramey and Matti Schmid. A pack including Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp and Brendan Valdes trails at 7-under, while Rickie Fowler and Emiliano Grillo are in the mix at 6-under.
Fowler and Grillo are among a group of 18 players hovering between 60th and 80th in the FedExCup standings, all hoping to lock in spots for the first round of the Playoffs. “At the end of the day, good golf solves a lot of things,” Fowler said.
Other notable scores: Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland each shot 67, Keith Mitchell had a 68, Cam Davis posted a 71, and defending champ Jhonattan Vegas opened with a 68. Haotong Li, who was in the final group at The Open, signed for a 70.