Kitayama Wins Snoozer 3M Open, Gotterup's Scheffler Comparison, And An Addiction To Betting Runners-Up

The 3M Open may be in the worst spot on the PGA Tour calendar. To go from two weeks across the pond with the Scottish Open, followed by The Open, then come back to the States and play a TPC course in Minnesota is never going to make for an intriguing tournament.  With the golf world hungover, the snooze effect was very real this past weekend.

Kurt Kitayama certainly had fun in Minnesota, given that he found the winner's circle after a phenomenal final round. Still, even he didn't seem to be all too excited about getting the job done. Chris Gotterup continued his great run of form to keep his name in the conversation for a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and there is an interesting comparison making the rounds on social media about where he is today compared to where Scottie Scheffler was when he was Gotterup's age.

As for other winners, Joaquin Niemann won yet another LIV Golf event, but we've long passed the point of his great performances in non-majors coming across as a surprise or even headline-worthy. 

There Is A New Superstar In Golf, And Her Name Is Lottie Woad

Oh, plus I'm either the world's worst golf gambler or unbelievably close to going on a run for the ages. It's probably not the latter.

Par Talk readers, feel free to email me at mark.harris@outkick.com with your thoughts, concerns, ideas, etc., or you can also holler at me on X @itismarkharris.

There Are Letdowns, And Then There Is The 3M Open

The field for this week's 3M Open wasn't bad, it was the strongest it has been in years, but it's damn-near impossible to get locked in given its stereotypical letdown spot on the calendar.

Going from Royal Portrush to just about any golf course on the PGA Tour circuit is like sitting in the owner's box at an NFL game, and watching the next game from the last row in the stadium. A tournament has to fall into that slot, however, and it just happens to be the 3M Open.

It didn't help the tournament's case that it came after a Noah's Ark-like flood on Wednesday before the opening round, and made for a tremendously soft golf course throughout the week. On top of that, it didn't help that big-ish names such as Tony Finau, Si Woo Kim, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Keith Mitchell, among others, missed the cut.

This isn't meant to take away from Kitayama, who was brilliant on Sunday.  He played his first eight holes six-under par, but it's not exactly riveting to watch the 97th-ranked player in the world outduel the likes of Matt Wallace, Sam Stevens, David Lipsky, and Pierceson Coody.

Again, no offense to those players; they had strong weeks in a big-time spot ahead of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, but we're not going to pump in false hype into a tournament that lacks, well, all of the hype.

Kitayama went more than two years between his Arnold Palmer Invitational win in 2023 to getting the job done at the 3M this weekend, so props to him for coming from behind on Sunday to cross the finish line first.

A Chris Gotterup - Scottie Scheffler Head To Head

Chris Gotterup was firmly in the mix to begin Sunday's final round at the 3M, and despite an uneventful 69 to close out the tournament, he still picked up a T-10 finish. For those not keeping track at home, Gotterup's last three starts have been a win at the Scottish Open, a solo third at The Open, and a T-10 finish in Minnesota.

Plenty of players in the field had a letdown spot at the 3M, and it wouldn't have been a surprise to see Gotterup fall into the same trend.  Instead, he kept on battling to continue his great form on two different continents.

This led golf analytics junky and broadcaster Rick Gehman to look into Gotterup's young career compared to Scottie Scheffler's when the World No. 1 was just 25 years old, and the numbers are certainly interesting.

There isn't some glaring takeaway from the numbers' comparison - aside from the fact that the state of New Jersey has produced some insane talent in recent years - but it will be interesting to see where Gotterup's strokes gained number falls when he completes his 29th start on Tour.

Gotterup isn't in the field for this week's Wyndham Championship, but he'll be in Memphis for the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Another Top 10 finish there, and the young man is really going to start dreaming of Bethpage Black and the Ryder Cup.

A Repetitive Note On Joaquin Niemann

Joaquin Niemann held off Bubba Watson in the United Kingdom on Sunday to win his fifth LIV event of the year in just 11 starts. He's now got a staggering seven wins on the Saudi-backed circuit.

It would be ridiculous to say the Chilean's run on LIV isn't impressive, but until he legitimately contends at a major championship, his win rate is hard to get worked up over.

He's still only 26 years old, and he'll surely contend in a major championship at the very least in the coming years, but in his 26 major championship starts, he's got exactly one more Top 10 finish than I do.

Spoiler: I have zero.

I Can't Stop Betting The Runner-Up On The PGA Tour

Who has two thumbs and keeps betting on the runner-up every week on the PGA Tour?

THIS GUY!

In all seriousness, I've been on a generational run of close calls in the golf betting market.

It all began at the Travelers Championship in mid-June. Keegan Bradley won by a shot over Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Henley. I was on Fleetwood that week.

The following week, Aldrich Potgieter won the Rocket Classic in a playoff over Chris Kirk and Max Greyserman; and I was on Greyserman.

The run continued at the John Deere Classic the very next week. Brian Campbell beat Emiliano Grillo in a playoff, and you guessed it, I bet on Grillo.

Surely the run would end when we jumped across the Atlantic Ocean for the Scottish Open. Gotterup ended up winning that week by two shots over Rory McIlroy and Marco Penge, and I happened to be on McIlroy.

Thankfully, I did bet Scottie Scheffler to win The Open, which made for a fun and stress-free weekend, but then it all came back around at this week's 3M Open. I bet Sam Stevens to win in Minnesota, and he ended up solo second behind Kitayama.

So, to recap, that's five of the last six weeks I've put a few bucks on the guy who finishes runner-up on the PGA Tour. On the one hand, it's pretty impressive, but on the other, it's incredibly sad.