Sunday, July 26, 2026
GolfStats Insider Daily Briefing
A 21-year-old rookie holds Sunday at TPC Twin Cities, Scheffler is charging from six back, and three more leaderboards hit the back nine across two continents.
Top 3 Stories
1. Koivun's record Saturday puts a 21-year-old in front at the 3M Open
PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun fired a bogey-free 10-under 61 at TPC Twin Cities on Saturday, closing with a tournament-record back-nine 28 that included eagles at the par-5 12th and the par-5 18th, to seize a three-shot lead at 20-under heading into Sunday. Emiliano Grillo and Ben Kohles each shot 65 to share second at 17-under, while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler answered a sluggish start with a back-nine 29 for a 64, climbing to 14-under and a tie for ninth, six back and very much alive in a tournament he had never played. Koivun, the former world No. 1 amateur who led Auburn to two national titles, is the youngest 54-hole leader on Tour this season and is making just his third start as a fully exempt member. Source: Golf Channel, CBS Sports.
2. Herbert takes a three-shot cushion into LIV UK's final round
At JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, England, Ripper GC's Lucas Herbert carried a three-shot lead into Sunday's final round of LIV Golf United Kingdom, sitting at 20-under and holding off Bryson DeChambeau, who is alone in second at 17-under. Tyrrell Hatton (15-under) and Herbert's Ripper teammate Cameron Smith (14-under) headline the chase pack as the closing round tees off. The event carries a $30 million purse and doubles as a team scrap, with Herbert and Smith giving Ripper GC a strong position. Source: LIV Golf.
3. Jenny Shin stands one round from ending a 10-year drought
Jenny Shin took a five-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, sitting at 12-under after rounds of 66-67-71. She is chasing her second career LPGA title and her first since the 2015 Texas Shootout, more than a decade ago. Pajaree Anannarukarn, who matched the low round of Saturday with a bogey-free 69, was her closest pursuer, with Erika Hara and Esther Henseleit further back. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, by contrast, scuffled to the wrong side of contention on a week she had hoped to build momentum. Source: LPGA, Golf Channel.
Player Movement & Status
- Padraig Harrington sees his Senior Open title defense unravel, sitting at 7-over (T63) after 70-72-74 at Gleneagles, out of contention entering Sunday. Source: PGA Tour Champions.
- Michael Kim's Friday 59 magic has cooled; he slid to a tie for sixth at 15-under, five off Koivun's lead, after failing to keep pace Saturday. Source: PGA Tour.
- Scottie Scheffler announces himself in his 3M Open debut, going from seven back to six in a hurry with a Saturday 64 built on a back-nine 29. Source: Golf Channel.
This Week's Tournament Read
3M Open, final round, TPC Twin Cities (par 71), Blaine, Minnesota. The course has played as a soft, receptive birdie-fest all week: Koivun is already at 20-under with a 61 on the board, and whoever hoists the trophy Sunday will have gone deeply red. Scoring separation, not survival, decides this one, which keeps a bunched chase pack theoretically alive but favors the player who keeps making birdies. Source: Golf Channel.
Trending up:
- Jackson Koivun: record 61, a three-shot lead, and no visible nerves in his third career start as a member.
- Scottie Scheffler: a back-nine 29 for 64 makes the best closer in the field a live threat six back.
- Emiliano Grillo and Ben Kohles: matching 65s to 17-under make them the first realistic chasers.
Trending down:
- Michael Kim: the 59 spark faded to a tie for sixth, five back and needing help.
- Davis Thompson: treaded water at 14-under Saturday and slid down the board as the leaders ran off.
Golf Betting Odds, Tournament Watch
3M Open, final round (Sunday). Live final-round outright pricing was not available at publication, so the pre-tournament opening board is shown below for reference. The leaderboard has since reshaped it entirely (see the movement note). Opening top-10 favorites by shortest price:
- Scottie Scheffler: +275
- Kurt Kitayama: +2500
- Maverick McNealy: +2500
- Tom Kim: +3000
- Hideki Matsuyama: +3000
- Keith Mitchell: +3500
- Jake Knapp: +3500
- Jackson Koivun: +3500
- Corey Conners: +4000
- Max Homa: +4500
Movement: This is the opening-week board, not a live price. Koivun, a +3500 longshot on Thursday, is now the runaway 54-hole leader and the live favorite by a distance, while Scheffler's +275 open never turned into a lead and he starts Sunday six back at 14-under. Read it as a cautionary tale: any current price on Koivun will be short, and the real value lives in Scheffler and Grillo derivatives.
Odds via VegasInsider (opening board, as of July 25; prices vary by book), corroborated by Covers.
These odds are a snapshot and will differ from the price you actually get at bet placement.
Live Tournament Pulse
3M Open: Koivun's back nine was the shot of the day anywhere, a 28 with eagles at the 12th and the 18th that flipped a tight board into a three-shot cushion. Scheffler's answer, a back-nine 29 for 64, was nearly as loud and keeps the world No. 1 within range in a tournament debut. Source: Golf Channel.
Senior Open, Gleneagles: Cameron Percy coughed up a three-shot 36-hole lead with a 1-over 71 but holed out for eagle at the last to salvage a share of the lead with Jerry Kelly, who quietly posted his second straight 68. They sit tied at 8-under, three clear of Peter Baker, with defending champion Harrington long gone. Source: PGA Tour Champions.
Abroad: Herbert versus DeChambeau anchors the LIV UK final round in England, while Shin cruises in Scotland with a five-shot lead she has held all weekend. Two more finishes worth a split screen. Source: LIV Golf, LPGA.
Under the Radar
The 3M top of the board is stacked with first-timers, and that mispriced the closer. Koivun is chasing a maiden title, and most of the names around 16- and 17-under are hunting their first PGA Tour win too. The one elite in the picture, Scheffler, sits six back with the best closing resume in the sport and a back-nine 29 already banked. When a leaderboard skews this heavily to inexperience, the outright market overrates the leader and underrates the finisher; the sharper Sunday tickets are Scheffler top-5, Grillo top-10, and any Scheffler head-to-head matchup. Source: Golf Channel.
The Senior Open is a two-man coin flip with a form tell. Jerry Kelly (two straight 68s, ball-striking humming) and Cameron Percy (gave back a three-shot lead with a 71 and needed a hole-out to stay level) are tied at 8-under, but Saturday's shape favors Kelly in the head-to-head market, where Champions-tour matchups stay soft and slow to price momentum. With Harrington's defense over, this major is wide open, and a Kelly matchup ticket is where the quiet value hides. Source: PGA Tour Champions.
Sundays are when a whole week finally settles the score, so pour something cold, find a finish worth watching, and let the golf reward the patience you saved all week.
GolfStats Insider Daily Briefing | GolfStats.com
