Best bets for PGA Tour’s 3M Open

Only six of the top 30 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking will tee it up Thursday for the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities near Minneapolis.

Dustin Johnson is the 10-1 favorite at the Westgate sportsbook, followed by Tony Finau (14-1), Brooks Koepka (16-1), Tommy Fleetwood (16-1), Paul Casey (20-1) and defending champion Matthew Wolff (20-1).

The Westgate has taken two notable futures bets: $1,900 to win $47,500 on Wolff at 25-1 and $1,600 to win $25,600 on Finau at 16-1.

The rest of the field is 30-1 or higher, and that’s where handicapper Wes Reynolds and Westgate golf guru Jeff Sherman targeted their best bets.

Reynolds, co-host of VSiN’s “Long Shots” golf betting show, picked his second outright winner in four weeks last week with Jon Rahm (22-1), who won the Memorial Tournament.

Here are Reynolds’ selections for the 3M Open (though he bet several of the picks at better prices):

Erik van Rooyen, 35-1

The South African played his college golf nearby at the University of Minnesota and ranks in the top 10 in this week’s field in several key metrics.

“Van Rooyen is just outside the top 40 in the world, and only six players in this week’s field have a higher world ranking,” said Reynolds (@WesReynolds1), who bet van Rooyen at 50-1.

Will Gordon, 60-1

Gordon shot 62 at June’s Travelers Championship, where he tied for third and led the field in birdies with 27.

“He struggled to handle prosperity immediately after the Travelers by missing the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic,” Reynolds said. “But now he’s had a couple weeks off and should be ready to fire here.”

Troy Merritt, 66-1

Merritt tied for seventh at last year’s 3M Open and comes in with relatively solid form after placing 22nd at the Workday Charity Open and tying for eighth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“This is also a bit of a homecoming for Merritt,” said Reynolds, who noted that the golfer grew up in nearby Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, and started his college career in Minnesota at Winona State.

Jhonattan Vegas, 70-1

“Vegas is the top-ranked player in this week’s field for strokes gained: off the tee and is in the top 10 for driving distance,” Reynolds said. “He should be able to attack the shorter par 4s with short wedges and make plenty of birdies.”

Kristoffer Ventura, 75-1

Ventura was a college teammate of Wolff and Viktor Hovland on Oklahoma State’s 2018 NCAA championship team. He tied for 21st at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

“This is a big number for a player with a lot of pedigree and potential,” said Reynolds, who played Ventura at 115-1.

Keith Mitchell, 100-1

Mitchell tied for 22nd at the Memorial and was third in the field for greens in regulation.

Derek Ernst, 220-1

The former PGA Tour winner lost his tour card after the 2016 season and since has been grinding on the Korn Ferry Tour, where he has finishes of 10-12-5 in the past three weeks.

“He gets a shot back on the PGA Tour this week and comes in with some confidence,” Reynolds said.

Here are Sherman’s selections:

Sam Burns, 42-1

Luke List, 50-1

Patrick Rodgers, 52-1

“I’m discounting some of the guys at the top. The form that they’re in doesn’t leave much to be desired,” Sherman (@golfodds) said of Johnson, Koepka and Fleetwood. “I’m looking down the board. I can see one of those guys having a good week this week.

“Burns finished seventh here last year and is playing decent lately. Luke List is coming off a 10th place (at the Memorial), and he won six weeks ago on the Korn Ferry Tour. Patrick Rodgers has a world of talent and is coming off a top-20 finish (at the Memorial). One of these days he’s going to get a win.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.