Lee Hodges has maintained that he has nothing to lose by playing at TPC Twin Cities.
Hodges was 74th on the FedEx Cup standings when he entered the 3M Open at Blaine, Minnesota. The 28-year old had only two weeks until the start of the playoffs. It was now or ever for him to make a move.
He achieved this feat in a record-breaking manner.
Hodges won the 3M Open, his first PGA Tour championship, by winning wire-to-wire. He finished at 24-under 260 – a new 3M Open scoring record. He set 36- and 54 hole scoring records during the week and is now 33rd on the FedEx Cup rankings, just a few spots away from earning a place at East Lake in Atlanta for the Tour Championship.
Hodges led the field by seven strokes at one stage after shooting a 4-under-par 67 on Sunday. He was leading by five strokes going into the final round. J.T. Poston tripled his closing par 5 to tie him for second with Martin Laird, and Kevin Streelman at 17 under.
Hodges’ second eagle of the day was on the par-5 12, where he hit his approach shot from 257 yards to 3 feet. He rolled in a 11-footer on the par-5 sixth for his first birdie.
As if it wasn’t enough, the second eagle effectively ended the tournament. Hodges had a 1 over average in the five holes in between eagles and his lead dropped from seven to five strokes in this time span. He had a six stroke lead with six more holes to go and cruised into the clubhouse.
Jay Seawell, the Alabama men’s coach of golf, flew to the Twin Cities Sunday to watch Hodges. Hodges played for the Crimson Tide between 2016-18.
Beau Hossler’s round was the best of the day. He tied the scoring record for the tournament with a 9 under 62, which included eight consecutive birdies starting at No. 9-16. He finished the week with 13 under par after shooting 29 on the back 9. Tony Finau, the defending champion, shot 1-under-70 on Sunday to finish T-7.
