Werenski grabs Minnesota lead, Finau two shots back
BLAINE: Richy Werenski, in search of his first PGA Tour victory, birdied the final hole to grab a one-shot lead after the first round of the 3M Open in Minnesota on Thursday.
Werenski, who has one top-10 finish in 12 PGA Tour starts this season, carded an eight-under-par 63 at TPC Twin Cities to sit one shot clear of fellow American Michael Thompson.
“I just played solid golf. The tee ball wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but found some fairways and took advantage with my irons,” said Werenski, who hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation. “My irons were really good.”
Werenski capped his round in style at the par-five 18th where he reached the green in three and then sunk a 21-inch putt for a closing birdie.
Defending champion Matthew Wolff and Tony Finau were among a group of six golfers two shots off the pace.
World No. 4 Dustin Johnson (78), fresh off a missed cut last week, withdrew with a back injury shortly after a round that came apart over a three-hole stretch where he went bogey, doublebogey and quadruple-bogey.
WIE NAMED ASSISTANT CAPTAIN Michelle Wie West was confirmed as assistant captain of the 2021 US Solheim Cup team on Thursday but has not ruled out a playing role despite not competing in a PGA Tour event for more than a year.
The 2014 US Open champion, whose husband is NBA Golden State Warriors executive Jonnie West, became a mother last month.
Wie West joins Angela Stanford as assistants on a US squad that will be out for revenge against Europe after a close loss in 2019 in the biennial competition.
Inverness Club in Ohio will host next year’s Solheim Cup scheduled for Sept 4-6.
LEADING FIRST ROUND SCORES
(par-71, USA unless stated)
63 — Richy Werenski
64 — Michael Thompson
65 — Tony Finau, Ryan Moore, Nick Watney, Matthew Wolff, Max Homa, Zhang Xinjun (CHN), Bo Hoag