Jace Frederick: 3M Open won’t be the same without Dustin Johnson’s water balls

Jace Frederick, Pioneer Press
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Dustin Johnson stepped up to the 18th tee box at TPC Twin Cities last summer needing only a birdie on the reachable par-5 to make the 36-hole cut and extend his Minnesota stay through the weekend.

In the press tent, the conversation centered on just how predictable the ensuing result would be: Everyone there knew Johnson, one of the best players in the world, was going to put his tee ball into the water.

Because there was no way he was going to hang around Blaine for two more days to complete a tournament he no longer had any chance of winning just to cash a $20,000 check that would be really nice to you and I but barely registers in his bank account.

Sure enough, kerplunk.

Bogey. Exit the green and head to the jet. Thanks for coming. See ya never.

This came one year after Johnson fired a first-round 78 at the 3M Open in 2020, and subsequently withdrew prior to Day 2.

In his trips to the Twin Cities, Johnson’s motivation sure appeared to be low. His performance was somehow worse.

So does the fact he’s not here this week really matter? Are people going to miss Johnson, or any of the other LIV golfers who are now suspended from the PGA Tour?

Those names have been draws for years, no question. But the idea of them showing up at your regular tour event often exceeds the actual result, which left you wondering if they ever wanted to be here in the first place.

Phil Mickelson is one of the great entertainers in the game’s history. But he’s just not very good anymore, and watching him slap the ball around the course to the tune of two over-par rounds in 2019 wasn’t exactly a spectacle.

Brooks Koepka managed to finish 65th at the 3M Open that year, a week in which he was best known for complaining about the number of divots present in the fairways.

Sure going to miss all that. The tournament will not be the same without them.

That inaugural tournament belonged to young guns. From tournament winner Matthew Wolff — whose game has since fallen off a cliff, leading him to also defect to the land of guaranteed money — to Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland. Those are the names that often get recalled, anyway. Rarely included in the memory is Sam Burns, who finished in a tie for seventh in 2019, then returned to Blaine in 2020 and now sits as the 11th-ranked player in the world, with three PGA Tour victories to his name this season alone.

Who’s the next Sam Burns to emerge from this field? Is it Davis Riley? Sahith Theegala? Chris Gotterup? They’re all age 25 and younger, and seemingly ready to cement themselves as Tour icons. And that’s not including 24-year-old Sungjae Im, who also is in the field this week and, frankly, has already reached such heights.

That’s what the 3M Open should be about — a celebration of who will be, rather than who has been. The removal of those simply stopping by to hit a few balls between “big events” helps clear the runway and allows for more focus and shine on who’s to come.

Who’s next is a much more interesting question than who was.

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