Cameron Champ hits a tee shot during the final round of the 3M Open.
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BLAINE, Minn. — Cameron Champ played mistake-free golf on Sunday at TPC Twin Cities. At least for 17 holes. Then came one over-cooked drive on the par-5 18th and all of a sudden the 3M Open was up for grabs.
By the time Champ reached his ball well left of the fairway, three players were in at 13 under. He led by two. Even a bogey was good for a win. But the 18th had been feast or famine all week — the easiest hole on the course on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and the hardest on Saturday. Yet Champ was playing from long rough, battling nerves and dehydration and trying to win a golf tournament. All of the former make the latter extremely difficult.
But two punch outs and one spectacular shot later, Champ got back on track — his hole, his round, his season. He hit a gap wedge from 127 yards to within three feet, tapped in for par and a victory. Champ signed for a five-under 66 and a two-shot win, the third of the 26-year-old’s career.
Louis Oosthuizen, Jhonattan Vegas and Charl Schwartzel tied for second at 13 under.
Up until recently, it had been a rough season for Champ, who entered the week with 10 made cuts in just 22 events and only one top 10. In a stretch from May to June, Champ missed four cuts and withdrew from the Memorial after a first-round 82, but he had his best finish of 2021 with a T11 at the John Deere Classic two weeks ago. He proved that wasn’t a fluke with his win on Sunday.
This story will be updated.
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