There is just enough of a breeze Friday at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine to provide a small respite from the relentless humidity.
While fans might be wishing for slightly more comfortable conditions, players in the morning wave of the 3M Open's second round are offering few complaints.
Bo Hoag's 5-under 66 has him to 9 under for the tournament, in a share of the lead with Chez Reavie (67), Jhonattan Vegas (69) and Roger Sloan (69).
Brian Stuard's bogey-free 8-under 64 is the best round of the day so far and has bolted him up to a tie for fifth place.
By 2 p.m., with nearly the entire 156-player field off and running in Round 2, 347 birdies had been made.
"You only have one option," Hoag said after posting his round. "You know you're going to have to shoot a good round or else you're going to get left behind. There's no real guessing game. Just got to be pretty aggressive with the scoring clubs in your hands and try to make some birdies out there."
Plenty of chasers are left on the course which should set up a fine Friday finale. Rickie Fowler, among the first-round leaders, teed off at 12:44 p.m. while popular players such as Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen were also on the course, some of them with work to do to make the weekend cut.
It's likely a score of at least 2 under for the tournament will be needed to play the final two rounds.
Come back to startribune.com later Friday night for more on the 3M Open and a look ahead to the weekend in Blaine.

Hill-Murray topples Edina in two overtimes for the Class 2A girls hockey title

Pitcher whose accuracy made him a rocket riser in the minors finally savors his success

Zuccarello thrives with Wild after making his mark in New York City

St. Cloud swimmer with a record in hand has another in mind
