Sahith Theegala entered this week ranked No. 11 in the world and No. 7 in the FedExCup standings. The 26-year-old is a rising superstar in the sport, who had struggled in his past appearances in Blaine.

And yet he still made the decision to tee it up in this week’s 3M Open.

That, in itself, is a major win for the tournament, and Hollis Cavner’s vision.

The 3M Open is not a “signature event” on the PGA Tour schedule. Those feature bigger payouts and essentially an obligation for the game’s top names to participate. Minnesota’s tour stop is a young event with a challenging location on the calendar, positioned directly after The Open.

The best players in the world simply aren’t going to be inclined to fly back across the pond the week after a major championship to play in Blaine.

Knowing that, Cavner — the tournament’s executive director — has had to get creative in his recruiting. Included in his strategy has been handing up-and-comers exemptions to play in the event when they’re not otherwise qualified.

Receiving one of those exemptions in 2020 was Theegala. At that point, Theegala was the reigning college golf player of the year getting starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. But he was invited to Blaine, where he missed the cut that week.

He returned to TPC Twin Cities as a tour member in 2022, and hasn’t missed the event since.

“I’ve said this numerous times, it’s a great tournament, golf course is awesome, logistics are great. The place is really pure and it was one of the first starts that I got on tour as well,” Theegala said. “This was my third start on a sponsor invite, so grateful for them to have me out.”

Oftentimes, such an invite can lead to a sense of obligation to continue to come back. But Theegala noted he doesn’t feel he “owes” the 3M Open anything. He’s returning year after year because he wants to.

“They’ve been so good to me and it’s a really, really well run event, one of the best run events and they treat you right. Logistics of it are great,” Theegala said. “The golf course is really pure, too. The grounds crew does a great job. Just all of that just keeps me coming back.”

And that’s part of the genius in Cavner’s plan.

By supplying exemptions to up and comers, he’s getting some potential up and comers out to the event so they can see — firsthand — how the tournament is operated. The gamble is that, if you do things right, guys will come back.

Tony Finau continues to come back year after year because of it, though he wasn’t a sponsor’s exemption.

The plan doesn’t always come to fruition. Other young players like Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland received exemptions into the tournament in its inaugural edition in 2019, and they’ve never been back. But even if just a few of the lottery tickets hit, the tournament is better for it.

Sponsor’s exemptions this year included Neal Shipley — a dominant amateur who recently turned pro — and Luke Clanton, the current No. 2 amateur in the world.

Maybe three years from now, they’ll be established stars returning to Blaine because they want to pay back Cavner and the tournament, or simply because they liked the event.

What’s funny about Theegala’s commitment to the 3M Open is this course hasn’t done him any favors in past visits. This year marked the first time Theegala even made the cut in four starts in Blaine.

He noted on Thursday this was a “revenge week” for him, and an opportunity to see if his improved driver could finally tame TPC Twin Cities.

“It’s funny, I’m not even like — this is probably the only week where I genuinely feel I’m not even worried about the score, I just want to beat the golf course. I’m not even looking at other guys or the board, don’t care what they shoot, I just want to feel like I’ve tackled this course,” Theegala said. “It’s fun, it’s a different challenge. I know some guys would shy away, but I have no problem taking it on. If I fail, so be it, but I really don’t want to let the course get the best of me again. … The first couple years I played out here I wasn’t fully aware of the level of the tour and how good the guys are. I walk off the golf course thinking this course is hard, like the course is hard. All of a sudden look up at the board, 7, 8, 9, 10 under.”

This year, Theegala finally cracked the code. He was near the top of the leaderboard all week and finished the tournament at 13-under par, good for a tie for sixth. Theegala needed eagle on No. 18 Sunday to keep hopes alive for victory, and his 230-plus yard approach from the left rough found the water. He went on to bogey the hole.

Still, he certainly beat the course.

Now the 3M Open and its patrons will wait and hope he wants to take on the task again in 2025.

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