Adam Svensson sets tournament
record with opening-round 60, leads by 1 shot at 3M Open
[July 25, 2025]
By MIKE COOK
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Adam Svensson made a 48-foot eagle putt on the
closing hole to complete an 11-under 60 on Thursday that gave him a
two-shot lead over Sam Stevens and Thorbjorn Olesen after one round
of the 3M Open.
Svensson also made nine birdies and did not drop a shot in the
lowest round in the tournament’s seven-year history. He tied the TPC
Twin Cities course record set by Paul Goydos at the 2017 3M
Championship on the PGA Tour Champions.
Chris Gotterup, who finished third at last week’s British Open and
won the Scottish Open two weeks ago, was three shots back along with
Chad Ramey and Matti Schmid. Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp and
Brendan Valdes were another shot back, and Rickie Fowler and
Emiliano Grillo were among those at 6 under.
Svensson’s lone tour win is the 2022 RSM Classic. The 31-year-old
Canadian has one top-25 finish in 21 starts this season and has
missed 11 cuts.
“I had a great range session today. Just really putted amazing, I
made a bunch of breakers. It was probably my best putting round I
ever had,” said Svensson, who needed just 25 putts, including a
nearly 40-foot birdie on the 11th hole and a 34-footer on the
fourth.
His career-best 60 is the second-lowest score on the PGA Tour this
season. Jake Knapp shot 59 at the Cognizant Classic in February.
Stevens could have shot 59 with an eagle on the par-5 18th, but
instead he put his second shot from 246 yards into the water in
front of the green, leading to his lone bogey and a 62 that was
still his lowest round on tour.
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Sam Stevens watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during the first
round of the 3M Open golf tournament at the Tournament Players Club
Thursday, July 24, 2025, in Blaine, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
“I have a pretty big gap between my 3-iron and my
3-wood, and I hit a terrible shot. I thought if I hit a 3-wood, it
was just going to fly to the back of the green, and I kind of had to
hit a 3-iron perfect to even cover the water. But I figured that was
my best chance to shoot 59, so I gave it a go,” he said.
Fowler and Grillo are among a group of 18 players who rank between
60th and 80th in the FedEx Cup standings, needing a strong
performance to help secure spots in the 70-man field for the first
playoff event in two weeks. Fowler entered the week at No. 63 and
Grillo is No. 71.
“At the end of the day, good golf solves a lot of things,” Fowler
said.
Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland (66th and 78th, respectively) each
shot 67. No. 70 Keith Mitchell had a 68, and 65th-ranked Cam Davis
shot 71.
Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas shot 68. Haotong Li, who was in
the final pairing with Scottie Scheffler at last week’s British Open
and finished tied for fourth, shot a 1-under 70.
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