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 [July 28, 2023]
Lee Hodges, after missing the cut in three of his last four
events, shot a bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 to hold the lead at the 3M
Open when play was suspended on Thursday in Blaine, Minn.
Twenty-one players were still on the course when play was called for
the night due to inclement weather. They will complete their rounds
Friday morning.
Hodges, 28, is seeking his first win on the PGA Tour since joining
full-time in 2022.
He started on the back nine at TPC Twin Cities with three straight
birdies en route to a 4-under 32, then added birdies at Nos. 1, 2, 6
and 7 for eight total.
On his first hole, the par-4 No. 10, Hodges hit his approach shot
132 yards to 3 inches from the cup. The next hole concluded with his
putt of 32 feet, 7 inches for birdie.
"I've been getting off to some poor starts, which I wish I knew why.
I'd fix it if I knew," Hodges said. "Yeah, today was great. To see
that wedge shot go to an inch on the first hole and then make that
40-footer on the second hole, I was like, all right, here we go,
might as well make a lot of birdies if we're gonna make a couple."
A four-way tie for second at 7-under 64 features Japan's Hideki
Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker, Tyler Duncan and Kevin Streelman.
Matsuyama also went bogey-free with seven birdies.
"Overall, it was a really good ball-striking round, especially my
iron play," Matsuyama said. "It got really hot out there on the back
nine."
Snedeker and Duncan also steered clear of bogeys. Streelman bogeyed
No. 10 and carded an eagle in closing at the par-5 18th hole.
Justin Suh, Nick Hardy and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo shot 6-under
65 to form a tie for sixth.
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Defending champion Tony Finau is in a group of nine
players tied for ninth at 5-under 66. Finau began on the back nine
and went birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, par, birdie to get to 6
under in five holes. The eagle on the par-5, 583-yard 12th hole came
on a 49-foot putt.
He said after the round that it is "incredibly
hard" to keep up that pace.
"I would have shot 53 I think if I had continued on the round I was
going," Finau said. "Not quite the case."
Finau bogeyed the par-4 second and seventh holes before making a
birdie on No. 8 to get back to 5 under.
"Well, I didn't miss a shot for the first seven holes, really,"
Finau said. "That was a pretty hot start, it was a nice way to start
my title defense this week and kind of calmed my nerves.
"It was a crazy day out there. I got off to a blazing start and felt
like I couldn't miss a shot, couldn't miss a putt. Then I missed
some putts, missed some shots and I ended up finishing pretty nicely
at the end. It was a crazy day. As we know, this game can be that
way. But I was happy just to post the score that I did for my title
defense first round."
Two-time major champion Justin Thomas opened with a 2-under 69 in
his tournament debut. Thomas is attempting to earn enough points for
the FedEx Cup Playoffs as well as Ryder Cup consideration.
--Field Level Media
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