Hodges has early lead in 3M Open; Thomas 6 back in bid for playoffs

Lee Hodges got off to a good start in his bid to make the FedEx Cup playoffs, shooting an 8-under 63 on Thursday for a one-stroke lead in the first round of the 3M Open.

Two-time major champion Justin Thomas, who's trying to make both the playoffs and the U.S. Ryder Cup team, opened with a 69 in windier afternoon conditions at the TPC Twin Cities.

"I played really well," Thomas said. "I think everybody that played this afternoon was pretty shocked with that wind. I think it was supposed to be somewhere in the kind of 8-to-10 (mph) range, but that was wild. It was not only blowing hard, but it was blowing in different directions."

Kevin Streelman had the best of the afternoon rounds with a 64, matching Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker and Tyler Duncan. Emiliano Grillo, Nick Hardy and Justin Suh were another shot back, and defending champion Tony Finau was one of nine players to shoot 66.

Hodges entered the week having missed the cut in three of his past four tournaments and 14 of 29 events this season. He's 74th in the FedEx Cup standings; the top 70 will make the playoffs that begin in two weeks.

He got off to a hot start with back-toback birdies.

"To see that wedge shot go to an inch on the first hole and then make that 40-footer on the second hole, I was like, 'All right, here we go, might as well make a lot of birdies if we're gonna make a couple,'" Hodges said.

Thomas is No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings. He was grouped with another struggling major champion, Gary Woodland (No. 90), who shot 72.

"I just can't put into words how far the ball was going. It was just wild. I mean, we had the wind quartering down off the left on 8 and Gary just hit kind of a smooth 8-iron . ... He flew it 205, 200 yards," Thomas said. "When you get a little bit, just a little bit of altitude like this and it gets this hot, it's just, it goes. It goes really, really far. I guess I just did a decent job of judging it."

Due to approaching inclement weather, play was halted Thursday evening with seven groups on the course. Several players were 3 under with a few holes left. They will resume their rounds Friday morning.