Meet the Minnesotans competing at the 3M Open
BLAINE, Minn. -- There are many ways to fill the bottom part of a PGA Tour event. On Thursday at the first round of the 3M Open, there was an eclectic mix of Minnesota golf backgrounds.
Like Frankie Capan, the best chance for a contender among locally raised golfers. After a bumpy start, he righted the ship and finished with a three-under round.
"It was good. Pleased with how today went," said Capan, "It is something I could get used to. Playing in front of people is pretty exciting and I like to do my best to put on a show whenever I can."
Then there's Fargo's Tom Hoge, who led midway through his round but fell off late to shoot a three under par.
And local section player of the year Eric Rolland. The golf coach at Augsburg University, at 48 making his first PGA Tour start.
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"I would describe it as dreamy. Almost floating. It was an amazing feeling," said Rolland, who shot a 2-over 73. "You know, have you heard people say 'how ya doing, I'm living the dream.' Now I know what that means for sure."
He played with Blaine grad and Minnesota tournament dominator Caleb VanArragon. Five over for Caleb and the same for Thomas Lehman who started well but double bogeyed the last two, despite some insider insight from his Minnesotan major winner dad.
"I had a good start. I was two under for a while," said Lehman. "So for a while the crowd was cheering me on and then unfortunately I had a bad back nine."
Troy Merrit finished with a +1 72. He's from Idaho but graduated from Spring Lake Park High School.
In the late tee times, Blake grad and PGA Tour Canada golfer Derek Hitchner played in his first PGA Tour event.
And last but not least, Alex Gaugert was playing in the same group, instead of caddying for Eric Van Rooyan. Both are former University of Minnesota golfers.
