Lee Hodges ‘playing with house money’ as he leads by five shots at 3M Open
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Lee Hodges of the United States during the third round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities on Saturday in Blaine, Minnesota.
PHOTO: AFP
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MINNESOTA – Lee Hodges is “playing with house money” as he heads into the final round of the 3M Open with a five-shot lead and chasing his first PGA title.
Hodges sits at 20-under 193 after recording a five-under 66 in Saturday’s third round at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. J.T. Poston is a distant second after also shooting 66.
Without a victory on Tour under his belt, Hodges has been playing without any expectations, allowing him to head into Sunday’s round with little pressure.
“I have nothing to lose. I’m out here playing with house money. I have a job next year on the PGA Tour, this is all great. This is just icing on the cake,” the 28-year-old American said.
Defending champion Tony Finau (67) is six shots back in third. Australia’s Aaron Baddeley (65) is another stroke adrift.
“I’m going to be in pretty similar position I was in last year, a handful of shots back, maybe more. It’s a golf course that can yield some birdies, and I’m definitely going to have to make some (Sunday) if I’m going to make a run,” the 33-year-old Finau said.
Hodges broke the tournament’s 54-hole record of 195 set in 2022 by Scott Piercy.
Starting the day four shots clear of the field, Hodges struggled to generate momentum early on with two bogeys and two birdies to reach the turn at level par.
But he caught fire after the turn, with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes before reeling off three more birdies to take a grip on the leaderboard.
The pick of Hodges’ flurry of birdies came on the par-five 18th when he blasted a superb third shot out of a greenside bunker to seven feet before coolly rolling in the putt.
Hodges said he plans to continue his aggressive approach on Sunday.
“It’s going to be hard tomorrow. Not like I can go shoot even par tomorrow,” he said.
“I’m going to have to keep making birdies. I’m just going to stay aggressive like I have been... I didn’t think I played bad on the front nine, I just couldn’t really get it close to the hole, and when I did, I couldn’t make the putt.
“On the back, I hit a lot of really good shots. Putter got going, which was nice. I knew it would if I just kept hitting putts, I’ve been rolling it so nice. I felt really comfortable out there.”
Hodges missed the cut in three of his previous four events.
Sam Ryder (65), Keith Mitchell (67), Billy Horschel (68) and Kevin Streelman (69) are tied for fifth at 12-under 201. REUTERS, AFP
