Lee Hodges of the United States looks on from the eighth tee during the first round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities on July 27, 2023 in Blaine, Minnesota. (Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
In his second PGA Tour season, Lee Hodges has held the first-round lead only once, when he shared it with Patrick Cantlay at the 2022 American Express.
A year-and-a-half later, he’s the lone wolf on top of the leaderboard at the 3M Open. Starting on the back nine, Hodges started with a trio of birdies and eventually added five more and no bogeys, signing for a 8-under 63 to lead the field after the opening 18 holes.
“I’ve been getting off to some poor starts, which I wish I knew why, I’d fix it if I knew,” Hodges said. “Today was great. 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.”
The 63 is the second-best round of Hodges’ career, behind only a 62 from the opening round of the American Express last year. That week was also the best finish of his career, a T-3. That doesn’t mean he’s satisfied.
“Just a great day today, I’ll take it for what it is and we’ll get out there tomorrow and try to do it again,” Hodges said.
This season, Hodges had made only one more cut (15) than he has missed (14). His best finish came at the Valero Texas Open with a T-6, but he had missed three of his past four cuts.
TPC Twin Cities is playing soft, meaning there have been no shortage of players attacking hole locations early on. Hodges said even as the course firms up, he has to stay aggressive.
“The whole golf course is a ball-striker’s course. And I think I hit it pretty nice, so I’ll take my chances around here,” he said.
In the first round, Hodges gained 3.837 strokes Tee to Green, third best in the field.
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