After seven years of pain, Brandt Snedeker gets some relief with delightful 3M Open start

Brandt Snedeker's first professional victory came in Minnesota long ago and he played for his country in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

It has been a long road back to a state the PGA Tour veteran remembers fondly.

Snedeker's 7-under-par 64 on Thursday tied him with three others for second place in the 3M Open's first round at TPC Twin Cities, one shot behind leader Lee Hodges from Alabama.

That 64 was by five shots his best round in a season shortened by experimental sternum surgery last fall. He didn't hit a club until April, and didn't play competitively until the Memorial Tournament in late May. He came to Blaine having played just six events, the last four all missed cuts.

Then he made seven birdies — including four consecutively to end his front nine — and no bogeys.

"It has been coming," Snedeker said. "I've been playing good at home."

Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama, Tyler Duncan and Kevin Streelman each shot 64 as well. April's Zurich Classic winner Nick Hardy's 65 was tied for sixth with a finishing birdie after he wrapped his 9-iron around a tree attempting a obstructed, miraculous approach shot.

Defending 3M Open champion Tony Finau started birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie and finished tied for eighth after shooting a 5-under 66.

All but Streelman played in the morning wave on a steamy, increasingly blustery summer day when the heat index hit 104 degrees. Matsuyama sought treatment after his round for heat-related issues.

Seeking to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and Ryder Cup team, late entry Justin Thomas shot a 2-under 69 and is tied for 43rd place.

Play was suspended because of approaching storms around 7 p.m. with 21 players still on the course. First-round play will resume at 8 a.m. Friday. Round 2 will be played as scheduled.

Snedeker was diagnosed as far back as 2016 with what he called "pretty much a broken sternum" that wouldn't allow him to practice or play. He managed the pain with Tylenol, steroids and trips to South America for stem-cell injections. He took two months off last summer, played a September tournament and felt stabbing pain for the final three rounds.

"It was now or never to do surgery," Snedeker said. "I tried everything that was legal under the sun. It was either that or no more golf."

The nine-time PGA Tour winner at age 42 and in his 19th pro season wasn't ready to give up the only job he has known.

"It took a little longer than I wanted," Snedeker said. "But I was finally able to put a round together today. It took a lot of hard work, practicing my tail off. Hopefully all that work has paid off and I'm ready to start playing some good golf now."

Hodges' 63 was his second-lowest round in his five-year pro career. He tied for 12th at the Memorial, then missed cuts in three of four tournaments — including last week's British Open — because of slow starts. Hodges made putts of 1 and 33 feet for birdies to start Thursday's round.

"Today was great ," Hodges said. "I was like, all right, here we go. I might as well make a lot of birdies if we're going to make a couple."

He made eight.

Off early, Finau played his first four holes in 5 under. He missed two birdie chances to go lower than a sizzling front-nine 30. He shot a one-over 36 on his back nine, unable to sustain such a blistering pace.

"It's incredibly hard to keep that going," Finau said. "I would have shot 53, I think, if I had continued. This is a crazy game."

Hardy's 186-yard shot from behind the tree and over water left an 11-foot birdie putt to end his round. His coach quickly bent the club back into shape.

"He's really good with club repair," Hardy said. "I've had inadvertent bent clubs, not through throwing, through wear and tear. But I've never hit a shot and bent a club before."

Snedeker's first pro win came in a July 2006 Nationwide Tour event in Byron, Minn., near Rochester. His 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team beat Europe for the first time in eight years.

"A lot of fond memories here," Snedeker said. "First ever professional win was up here. I won a playoff, beat Jeff Quinney in a playoff. A lot of great memories, so hopefully I can cap it off with another one this week."