3 things you should know after Round 1 at the 3M Open

The golfer who had the day’s best round is 248th in the world golf rankings. The golfer who had the day’s worst round is the highest-ranked player in the field. TPC Twin Cities played as an equal-opportunity golf course. Here are three things you should know after Thursday’s first round of the 3M Open in Blaine, Minn.    

Richy Werenski leads 

Richy Werenski is ranked 248th in the world. No player was better on Thursday. 

Werenski birdied half of his holes on his way to an 8-under 63, his best score ever in relation to par. He was one shot ahead of Michael Thompson, two shots ahead of seven golfers, including Tony Finau and Matthew Wolff, and three shots better than 10 golfers. 

“Yeah, irons were really good,” Werenski said. “I definitely could have hit it better off the tee – I found some fairways – but wasn’t really solid with the driver. But the irons were really good, so I sort of made up for it and putted pretty darn well.”

Tony Finau, Matthew Wolff contending 

Wolff, the defending champion, made eight birdies, and Finau, a week removed from holding a share of the lead through two rounds at the Memorial, made seven on their way to 6-under 65s. Joining them at two back were Max Homa, Ryan Moore, Xinjun Zhang, Nick Watney and Bo Hoag.

At 5-under were Kyle Stanley, Brendon de Jonge, Talor Gooch, Patrick Rodgers, Bronson Burgoon, Robert Garrigus, Charl Schwartzel, Aaron Baddeley, Chris Kirk and Bo Van Pelt, who made a hole in one on the 195-yard, par-3 8th. Seven golfers were at 4-under, and 14 golfers were at 3-under. 

Brooks Koepka, the sixth-ranked golfer in the world, shot a 1-under 70. 

Dustin Johnson is out 

Dustin Johnson, at No. 4, the highest-ranked player in the field, played his first six holes at 1-under. He played his last six holes at 1-under. 

He played his middle six holes at 9-over and finished at 7-over 78 – tied for last in the 156-player field – before withdrawing from the tournament later in the afternoon with a back injury.

Johnson was 4-over on the par-5 18th. 

He hit a drive down the right side of the fairway. From 198 yards out, he hit his approach into the water in front of the green. Penalty and drop. He hit another into the water. Penalty and drop. He hit another into the water. Penalty and drop. 

He hit his eighth shot to within 3 feet of the cup. He tapped in for a 9. 

“Hit a great drive on 18, and we only had like 199 to cover from where I was, 208 flag. It was a perfect 6-iron,” Johnson said. “Hit it right at it, and never once did I think it was going to go in the water. That never crossed my mind when it was in the air. Just went in the water, and I hit two more shots in the water, then I hit a good one, made a tap-in for a 9.”