Brooks Koepka misses cut at 3M Open, prepares for upcoming title defense

BLAINE, Minn. – Brooks Koepka, who is set for back-to-back title defenses at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and PGA Championship over the next two weeks, will have a few extra days to work on his game after missing the cut on Friday at the 3M Open.

For Koepka, who shot rounds of 70-71 to finish 36 holes at TPC Twin Cities at 1 under, it was his second missed cut in four starts since the PGA TOUR resumed play after the COVID-19 break.

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The four-time major champion came to the 3M Open on the heels of a final-round 80 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide which sent him tumbling to a tie for 62nd. But in his first tournament after the break, Koepka tied for seventh at the RBC Heritage, which remains his only top 10 of the truncated season.

So, Koepka stands in danger of missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in his career. He came to Minnesota ranked 154th with only the top 125 at the end of the Wyndham Championship in three weeks advancing to the first round.

A year ago, Koepka finished a career-high third in the FedExCup and he has made it to the season-ending TOUR Championship each of the last three years.

A total of 67 players made the cut, which came at 2 under on a hot, breezy Friday afternoon.

Among others making an early exit was Paul Casey, who like Koepka, has an enviable streak of advancing with the top 30 in the FedExCup to East Lake each of the last five seasons. He came to TPC Twin Cities ranked a distant No. 107, though, and missed the cut after shooting 2 over.

Other notables who won’t play the weekend are Bubba Watson (67-74); the 61-year-old Tom Lehman, who helped design the course (71-70) and Tommy Fleetwood (71-72), who came over from England, quarantined in the Hamptons and was making his first start on TOUR since the break.