The man who has held the world No. 1 ranking for nearly 200 weeks has not entered the winner’s circle in nearly 200 days. The latter streak could be in jeopardy this weekend as Scottie Scheffler caught fire on the greens at TPC Twin Cities on Thursday at the 2026 3M Open en route to an opening 6-under 65.
Scheffler’s 6-under figure puts him three strokes behind first-round leader Ben Kohles, who continued a summer to remember with a 9-under 62. He is two strokes clear of Jackson Koivun, Gary Woodland and Emiliano Grillo. Lucas Glover, Michael Brennan, Jesper Svensson and Kevin Roy are among those tied with Scheffler at 6 under.
“I didn’t hit a bunch of fairways early, but I was able to kind of manage my way around and get out of some trouble areas without making any bogeys,” Scheffler said. “That was important, keeping my momentum going. Once I started to hit fairways and gave myself some looks, [I] was able to start making some birdies.”
Following a week at The Open where he made just six putts outside of 10 feet, Scheffler nearly matched that total on Thursday with five. The 20-time PGA Tour winner missed a birdie bid from 7 feet on his opening hole, but that was the last opportunity he let slip by as he gained north of three strokes on the field with the mallet in hand.
Scheffler’s birdie conversions came from 15 feet on No. 12 (his third hole of the morning), 17 feet on No. 18, 15 feet on No. 1, 30 feet on No. 4, 3 feet on No. 6 and a 10-footer on the par-4 7th, which was his final circle of the day. In between all the birdies, he kept the scorecard clean thanks to a timely 18-foot par save on No. 15 as well.
“Fresh greens are a little bit easier than like links greens,” Scheffler said. “Part of playing links golf is the ball’s not going to roll true every single time. Felt like I was just on the wrong end of that last week. Got here and made sure I was lined up where I thought it was and made sure I was hitting it on that line, and that was about it.”
Scheffler will now try to keep his foot on the gas over the next 54 holes amid a field filled with players looking to make a push not only up the leaderboard but up the FedEx Cup standings, where the world No. 1 also occupies the No. 1 spot.
“Golf’s funny,” Scheffler said. “Some days, you’re hitting your lines, and the line seems to be tracking toward the hole, and other days, it feels like you’re doing the same thing, and it kind of goes around the hole. But today was a day in which I was able to hole some nice putts, and that’s why I was able to make some birdies out there.”
Leader
1. Ben Kohles (-9): Kohles signed for the lowest round of his PGA Tour career and has positioned himself to move up the FedEx Cup standings just as he has done this last month. Splitting time between the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour, Kohles decided after his heartbreaking loss at the John Deere Classic to keep pushing on this circuit as he stands at No. 8 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings thanks to a win in June. At No. 100 in the PGA Tour’s season-long race, he needs a monumental effort these next three weeks to keep his playoff hopes alive. Thursday at TPC Twin Cities was the start he needed as he gained more than five strokes on the field on approach en route to a career day.
“After John Deere, I think I talked to my team and feel like I put myself in position to play out here as much as I can,” Kohles said. “If I don’t make the FedExCup Playoffs in the next three weeks, there’s still a chance for me to play the last six Korn Ferry [events]. With the start that I’ve gotten and how I’m sitting there, confident in myself that I can still get it done, even skipping some weeks here and there. Yeah, my main focus is I’m not really worried about that at all and trying to make the top-70.”
Contenders
T2. Jackson Koivun, Gary Woodland, Emiliano Grillo (-7)
T5. Scottie Scheffler, Lucas Glover, Michael Brennan, Kevin Roy, Jesper Svensson (-6)
A missed cut in his professional debut might as well be ancient history for Koivun. Following up a short week at the John Deere Classic with a top-10 finish at the ISCO Championship, the 21-year-old is settling in by the week with Thursday’s 64 doing plenty to help the cause. Koivun took the lid off the hole immediately with a 10-foot birdie conversion on the par-4 1st. He added makes from 41 feet, 15 feet and 12 feet by the time he made the turn, keeping it rolling on the back half and maintaining an aggressive approach when the time called for it.
“The golf course is definitely gettable as the scores show,” Koivun said. “Just playing smart, playing for a score. Just executing when the time is right and getting aggressive when you can. Just felt like I did a good job of taking advantage of that today.”
2026 3M Open updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: +160
- Ben Kohles: 6-1
- Jackson Koivun: 9-1
- Gary Woodland: 14-1
- Emiliano Grillo: 17-1
- Michael Brennan: 23-1
- Lucas Glover: 30-1
This tournament goes through Scheffler, and while it is likely wise to add him now, let’s instead back our initial read. Kim at 3 under did not have his best stuff Thursday, but at 50-1 his price remains appetizing, especially with a quick turnaround for his second round.
