Holes an eagle putt from 4 feet, 4 inches on the final hole to card a bogey-free 9-under 62 to lead by two strokes. Hit 17 of 18 greens, 12 of 14 fairways and took 28 putts en route to his career low on TOUR in 354 rounds; previous low: 63/twice (most recent: 2024 Puerto Rico Open/R3). Holds 18-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in an individual stroke-play event on TOUR (previous best position after 18 holes: T4/2026 Puerto Rico Open/finished T42); NOTE: Held 18-hole lead/co-lead at 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with teammate Patton Kizzire (finished T28). Five-time Korn Ferry Tour winner seeks first PGA TOUR title in his 122nd start; two players have earned their first PGA TOUR win at this event (Lee Hodges/2023, Matthew Wolff/2019). Sat No. 100 in the FedExCup standings heading into this week with three events remaining before the FedExCup Playoffs; currently projected to move to No. 47 with a win. Won a Korn Ferry Tour event in June (BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX); finished T3, two shots back, at the John Deere Classic in July after a final-hole double bogey Additional player notes. Emiliano Grillo (T2/-7) ties his record for most birdies in a round (9) for the seventh time in his career (most recent: 2023 American Express/R3/Pete Dye Stadium Course); makes seventh appearance at the 3M Open, with five made cuts in six prior appearances, including three top-10 finishes (T3/2020, T2/2022, T10/2023). In his third start as a professional, PGA TOUR rookie Jackson Koivun (T2/-7), who earned membership via the PGAT University Accelerated program, matches his career low score on TOUR (64/2025 John Deere Classic/R2).

Patton Kizzire withdrew from competition with a back injury after the first round.