Patrick Fishburn revamps putting to get back into contention at 3M Open

Coming off a third-place finish at the Barracuda Championship last week, former Brigham Young golfer Patrick Fishburn started his Saturday morning round two hours behind the leaders at the 3M Open.

When the day was over, he was tied with world 11th-ranked Sahith Theegala at 12 under par after shooting a 63 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

How’d Fishburn do it?

Pretty much by changing everything, at least with his putter.

“A lot of adjustments,” the 32-year-old Fishburn said. “I completely changed the way I grip the putter, changed putters, changed the loft on the putter, everything you think of with putting.”

He said he knew change was needed because of one simple reason.

“It wasn’t going in the hole,” Fishburn said. “I knew I needed to change to something different.”

“That’s what I did,” Fishburn said. “It’s made a difference. I hadn’t made hardly any before that and then I started to make some putts in Kentucky and last week in Tahoe. It changes the game if you can make a putt.”

He said the demoted putter is “safely at home. It’s at home resting. You never know, I may have to go back to it.”

Australian Cam Davis is tied for sixth after three rounds and is positioned to win for the second time in three starts. He won the Rocket Mortgage Classic last month and also in 2021.

“I’ve got my game in a place that feels pretty comfortable,” Davis said. “I’ve got my head in a place that feels good right now. I just feel like I’m in a position now where everything is going well. I feel good about tomorrow. If it’s windy again, awesome. I love the wind. It will be a lot of fun.”

Andrew Putnam didn’t have a great third round with a 4-over 75, but he has had a good week on the little lake that defines TPC Twin Cities’ 14th hole.

“This is where the big bass are,” Putnam said, pointing out on air to Jim Nantz and Trevor Immelman.

He is tied for 40th.

Third-round leader Jhonattan Vegas is entering the final round with at least a share of the lead for the third time in his PGA Tour career. He finished tied for fourth in the 2016 ISCO Championship and was tied entering the final round of the 90-hole American Express tournament in 2011 and went on to win.

Vegas was limited to seven starts in the 2022-23 season due to a right elbow injury and is competing this season on a major medical extension.

Second-place Matt Kuchar is trying to become the 118th player to reach 10 career PGA Tour wins and move into a tie for 108th on the all-time wins list.

Kuchar also would end a winless streak of five years, 196 days.

• If third-place, 14-under Maverick McNealy wins, he will be the 11th first-time winner this season and join 2019 3M Open champion Matthew Wolff as the only players to win the 3M Open in their tournament debut.