3M Open: Defending champ Lee Hodges and more notable names to miss the cut

Friday at the 3M Open saw 18 players shoot 67 or better. The scores were low and the birdies plentiful — 581 to be exact.

However, not everyone played that well, as there were also 32 scores of 74 or worse.

Taylor Pendrith leads the tournament by two shots at 12-under overall after he went bogey-free through 36 holes.

TPC Twin Cities challenged the players as the wind picked up Friday. Defending champion Lee Hodges struggled both days and is among the guys who missed the cut.

Some guys inside the Top 70 did not play well through the first two days, either.

The 3M Open is about limiting mistakes and making birdies. This group of notable players was not able to do that.

Let’s look at some of the more popular names to miss the cut in Minnesota.

Notable PGA Tour names to miss the cut at 3M Open

— Tom Hoge: (70-71;-1)
— Austin Eckroat: (70-72; E)
— Peter Malnati: (71-71; E)
— Luke List: (67-76; +1)
— Adam Hadwin: (75-68; +1)
— Michael Thorbjornsen: (66-77; +1)
— Luke Clanton (a): (71-72; +1)
— J.T. Poston: (73-71; +2)
— Joel Dahmen: (73-72; +3)
— Nick Dunlap: (71-75; +4)
— Erik van Rooyen: (75-74; +7)
— Lee Hodges: (73-76; +7)
— Patton Kizzire: (76-73; +7)

Tom Hoge entered this week 20th in the FedEx Cup standings. He did not play terribly, but he could not get the putter to cooperate.

Austin Eckroat and Peter Malnati both finished even par through two days. They are two more players well inside the Top 70 but will likely drop a spot or two since they missed the cut.

Luke List, right on the bubble at No. 71 in the standings, did not have a good second round. He shot a 5-over 76 after a solid 4-under 67 on Thursday.

Adam Hadwin played terribly on Thursday with a 4-over 75 but turned it around on Day 2. However, it was not enough to tee it up this weekend. He sits at No. 37 in the playoffs.

Michael Thorbjornsen and amateur sensation Luke Clanton played together and shot 1-over through two days. Both came into this tournament with a lot of momentum, but the winds at TPC Twin Cities were rough.

The PGA Tour takes next weekend off for the Olympics, but the season finale at the Wyndham Championship will determine the Top 70 so the FedEx Cup playoffs can begin. Who will make it to Memphis? The race is tight around that cut-off mark.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.