golf

What putter controversy?

Much of the the talk on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour in recent weeks has centered around the possible – and some say unfair - advantage players receive with the use of belly putters and long-stick putters.

Hogwash. Steve Pate switched from his belly putter back to his traditional putter for this week’s 3M Championship at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. He shot a 7-under-par 65 in the opening round to join Chien Soon Lu, Peter Senior and Gil Morgan in the clubhouse atop the leaderboard with about a quarter of the field still on the course as of 3:50 p.m.

Pate rolled five birdies in a row on the front nine – one from 40 feet – and added another 35-footer on No. 14 to highlight his round.

Morgan shot his age for the second time on the Champions Tour. He fired a 64 last year in the Toshiba Classic.

Check back to startribune.com for updates on the 3M Championship throughout today and the rest of the weekend.

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for the tournament leaderboard.