More than four hours after Kurt Kitayama posted a record-tying 60, two-time PGA Tour winner Akshay Bhatia and Friday’s leader, Thorbjørn Olesen, moved one shot ahead of him entering Sunday’s final round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.
Kitayama started more than four hours ahead of Friday’s leaders and was done before the day’s final pairing of Olesen and Jake Knapp teed off.
Bhatia’s afternoon round of 8-under-par 63 brought him from eight shots back after the second round. He was alone in first place briefly at 18 under par before Olesen struck back, creating a two-man lead that will sleep on it overnight. There are 21 golfers in all within five shots of the lead.
Bhatia had eight birdies and a bogey during a round that included two chip-ins and plenty of body English needed for more than one lip-in birdie putt.
He praised his play out of the rough Saturday and acknowledged he didn’t “particularly hit it great off the tee” but was thankful the greens remained soft.
Bhatia is 23 and a fan favorite who shook 3M Open tournament director Mike Welch’s hand after his round and signed autographs for a mob of young fans.
He has won the 2023 Barracuda Championship and 2024 Valero Texas Open, but he called 2025 a “demoralizing season for most of the year.” He finished tied for third at the Players Championship in March, but he has struggled mostly since then, with zero top-15 finishes.
“It’s just been a decline,” he said, citing driver troubles, disappointing results in the majors and pressure he puts on himself to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team. “It’s not so much pressure to where I feel like I’m coming here to win. It’s more, ‘OK, I need to have a solid enough finish to get in a better [FedEx Cup points] position.’ ”
