Minnesotans love their golf, but a lack of big names hurts the 3M Open

The U.S. Open returned to Hazeltine National in June 1991, after a 21-year absence and to play a much-modified layout.

The changes were a result of the first try in the Chaska countryside in 1970, when Dave Hill won the insult contest that players aimed at the course for both its design and immaturity.

But we showed 'em in '91.

Hazeltine was a better-organized test, while remaining a monster. And Minnesota's golf crowd invaded the spacious grounds as never before.

On a Monday, June 17th, Payne Stewart and Scott Simpson (both 6-under par through four rounds) would have an 18-hole playoff to decide the 91st U.S. Open.

The U.S. Golf Association allowed anyone with a used ticket to show up for the playoff. A few thousand on Monday had been a good crowd for such playoffs elsewhere.

The estimate for Stewart vs. Simpson at Hazeltine was 35,000. It was madness, as a stampede of thousands tried to get a glimpse of two guys playing erratic golf (Stewart 75, Simpson 77).

There was a scene described in the next day's Star Tribune:

A young man named Bob from Richfield and a friend climbed a thin tree along a fairway to see the twosome. Bob's branch snapped, he hit his head on another branch on the way down, suffered a cut, and was treated by medics.

Bob's friend said: "We had a great view, until the branch broke.''

I received an email from "Bob,'' the kid in the tree, in 2021 with a reminder it was the 30th anniversary of his publicized fall from a Hazeltine tree.

Bob, now pushing 50, is at the very young end of the thousands in attendance that day, turning this into a battle cry: "Those Minnesotans sure like their golf.''

This was tested in 1993, with the arrival of the Burnet Senior Classic at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids. Hollis Cavner, in TV operations at the '91 Open, became the chief golf operator for well-heeled realtor Ralph Burnet and charitable partners.

The crowds were phenomenal for several years. The senior visit became the 3M Championship and moved to the new TPC Twin Cities in 2001.

Eventually, the Champions Tour was worn out here. 3M's increased commitment and hard lobbying (a Cavner strength) landed an event on the main tour — the 3M Open — for 2019.

This year's field? Most of it takes being a golf expert.

The main attraction was Justin Thomas, a superstar in a slump, needing FedEx Cup points to reach the top 70 in the playoff standings.

Sorry for the inconvenience, J.T., especially after an even-par 71 on Friday to finish 2-under, just outside the 36-hole cut.

The crowd on Thursday came off as smallish. There was an excuse. A high temperature in the 90s.

The crowd for Friday's second round — delayed by rain for two hours late in the afternoon — was similar.

This is the 30th anniversary for the PGA Tour becoming an annual presence in the Twin Cities, first the quarter-century of the Champions, now Year 5 of the main Tour — 30 years that have increased the competition immensely for selling a golf tournament.

Consider main events since late-June 1993:

The North Stars were weeks into relocation to Dallas as the Stars, and the NHL wouldn't return until 2000. The Lynx did not exist until 1999. The Minnesota Thunder were the "A'' men's soccer team playing in Blaine.

The Wild are hugely popular — and expensive. Minnesota United FC of the MLS fills its new soccer stadium to nearly 20,000.

The Vikings want all their fans' money inside the new football cathedral. The Twins have a better ballpark. The Saints have a great little ballpark, and better athletes, too.

And the craft beers are danged expensive, everywhere.

Meantime, golf's brief uncivil war between LIV and the Tour, ended by Saudi Arabia's supply of trillions, has cost Cavner and Co. half of the 48 LIV players — non-stars, but vaguely familiar names — that would've been in the 3M Open the last two years.

The battle also led to weekly Tour events being "designated," half-field tournaments with top players committed to play — leaving tournaments such as the 3M hustling more than ever to get a few name players.

"What's happened with LIV, and now making peace, hasn't affected our tournament at all,'' Cavner said this week. "3M is good; our hospitality business for the tournament is strong. The course is in great shape.

"And Minnesota golf fans … they show up.''

That would mean being there this weekend, even if your original strategy was to follow Justin Thomas. Nice guy, it seems, but frustrated enough Friday to leave the course without public comment.