Souhan: How the 3M Open can spice things up

On Sunday, the 3M Open featured the strange combination of low scoring and lowered voices.

Perhaps because of the heat and the lack of established star power on the leaderboard, Minnesota golf fans seemed strangely reserved.

“Strangely,” because Minnesota golf fans are infamous for being overserved and then screaming at Rory McIlroy at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National. Sunday, what you heard, even when the leader made a birdie on the back nine, was more like golf claps and whispers.

The 3M Open offers dramatic finishing holes, an intriguing golf course and a passionate golf community. What the tourney can’t offer is in-their-prime superstars or a place in the PGA Tour calendar that attracts the likes of someone like Scottie Scheffler.

That’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

How can the 3M Open get louder, if not better?

I have a few suggestions. Some might be serious.

The 3M should hire Miller as the tourney’s voice, and broadcast his comments all over the course. Let’s see how these guys handle Miller critiquing their backswings … during their backswings.

One word: Alligators.

New golf balls: One of the problems in modern course design is that even average players hit the ball so far that it’s hard to make courses challenging.

If 3M wants to keep its sponsorship, it should use its technology to print out 3M Open golf balls that don’t fly 320 yards when pros hit one off the toe.

3M can even make the balls yellow, in case anyone wants to write notes on them.

Don’t stop there. Tuck every Sunday pin close to a hazard or bunker. Make every shot a test of guts as well as skill.

Make it Minnesota: Make it a tradition that when a player misses an easy putt, everyone near the green simultaneously mutters “Ope!”

Add voltage: While the average fan was surprisingly quiet on Sunday, there were still those fools screaming things like “Mashed potatoes!” and “Get in the hole!” immediately after every tee shot.

Every player should have the right to tase a fan at least once a round.

More green: This year’s winner, Kurt Kitayama, hit brilliant shots out of the rough and around trees. One way to make the course tougher would be to make the rough longer and thicker, and the trees more plentiful.

Long yardages don’t bother the modern tour pro. Foliage does.

This one is serious: The 3M has done all it can to earn a reputation as a player-friendly tournament, which is why a number of quality players were willing to play in the Twin Cities suburbs a few days after the end of the British Open.

Building on that reputation might not bring in Scheffler, but it might draw young stars on the rise.

Asked about the tourney Sunday night, Kitayama said, “This tournament is amazing. I thought the fans were awesome. The course is in amazing shape. ...

“It’s just a great venue, great atmosphere, great setup. I thought that last year. It’s a place where you want to keep playing.”