3M Open hosts media day in Blaine ahead of tournament
BLAINE, Minn. -- The Twin Cities stop on the PGA Tour is just three weeks away. Monday was media day for the 3M Open in Blaine.
The tents and grandstands are going up. The 3M Open is around the corner.
"I wish the thing was tomorrow. I'm ready to have it," said 3M executive director Hollis Cavner.
One big name a week will join the field that already has Tony Finau and defending champion Cameron Champ. Right now, the talk is all about the new controversial tour.
"LIV, whatever they are, it's a pain in our butt," said Cavner. "We've lost players to them. But we're gonna win the long battle."
Cavner didn't mince words about the rival tour that has taken big names like Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
"It's more about goodwill for a country than it is about building a legacy," he said.
As it does with every PGA Tour event nowadays, the presence of the upstart LIV Golf Tour is always looming. For the 3M Open, the tournament's first champion four years ago, Matt Wolff, is widely rumored, this week, to be leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
"I'm disappointed that Wolffy went that way," said Cavner. "I really thought... you know, he's struggling. Put it that way. He's got some issues. He's struggling. His game's struggling. I think he just decided to take the easy money and go."
Cavner doesn't believe LIV Golf will be around long-term.
"There's a few guys that left that I was cheering for. Take that guy. The slow players, things like that. Let's speed up the round by about an hour. Get rid of Dechambeau and Na. We can finish today," laughed Cavner.
The first round of the 3M Open is July 21st.
