He was Utah-born and raised, but Tony Finau nonetheless considers his return to TPC Twin Cities a homecoming.

The highest-ranked player in the field — No. 16 in the world ranking — this week defends the 3M Open title that he calls career changing.

Finau trailed by five shots with 11 holes left in Sunday's final round and won by three, earning his third PGA Tour victory.

Until then, Finau had infamously finished second 10 times on tour. Until then, he never received a break like the fortuitous bounce off a grandstand at the watery, par-3 17th hole. He shot 68 or better in all four rounds, including a Sunday 67.

"It definitely was a tournament like I'd never been involved with before," Finau said. "And with such a big swing, I may not ever be involved in my career again. It gave me a lot more confidence — and wins — after that."

Finau's wife, Alayna, and their five children — and extended family who live in Minnesota — followed along. Finau rented a house on the water adjacent to the course and fished from shore there and on a friend's boat on Lake Minnetonka.

"It's the one time a year we fish together," Finau said. "I don't know why only there. Now that I've won there, I'm sure we will be there for many years to come."

In the year since that 3M Open win, Finau's wife and children have been featured in Netflix's "Full Swing" documentary.

"My family loves Minnesota, I have family here," Finau said. "It just made it more special my family was there. Minnesota is one of our special spots and now it holds a special place for me."

3M Open tournament director Mike Welch calls Finau's return as famous champion a "game changer" for a tournament scheduled the week after the British Open.

A brand new game

Tournament officials recruited the 156-man field for the 3M Open in a season still unsettled by a mysterious, unexpected agreement between the PGA Tour and competing Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf.

What will it all mean for the future of a tour awaiting its 2024 schedule?

"There's uncertainty, nothing really has been done as far as I know," said Finau, who is ninth in the FedExCup standings. "I know what my schedule looks like this summer. My focus still is on playing golf and trying to win the FedExCup. It's a great opportunity for me, having already won twice."

The 3M Open and other tour stops like them also are competing against new designated tour events that boosted purses to as much as $20 million in an attempt to compete with LIV Golf's deep pockets. The 3M Open's $7.8 million awards the winner $1.4 million and 500 valuable FedExCup points.

They played the first 3M Open over July 4 weekend in 2019 before moving to the week after the British Open the next three years. Both are challenging dates to draw a strong field and sell tickets. An alternate date might be early June before the U.S. Open.

"For Tony to come back here to defend and talk about how he and his family enjoy it here, that immediately gives us legitimacy," Welch said. "It says the 3M Open does it right. It's a scoreable course and a great stop that treats players, their caddies and their family well."

Race to the playoffs

The 3M Open and next week's Wyndham Championship are the last two tournaments for players to qualify for the playoffs by finishing in the top 70 — down from 125 in previous years — in the FedExCup points standings.

Slumping former world No. 1 Justin Thomas committed Friday to play on the same day he missed the cut at the British Open by shooting 82-71. He's chasing those FedExCup points, currently 75th on the list.

"I used today as a good opportunity to get ready for next week, and I felt like I did that," Thomas told reporters after his Friday round. "The golf in Minnesota is obviously slightly different than here in Liverpool. I'm hitting a lot of good shots. I'm just making so many bonehead mistakes and crazy things happening."

Finau by far is the highest-ranked player among the 3M Open's first four champions. Rookie Matthew Wolff won the inaugural in 2019, Michael Thompson in 2020, Cameron Champ in 2021. The field includes six major champions: two-time PGA champion Thomas, U.S. Open champions Gary Woodland and Lucas Glover, Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama, British Open champ Stewart Cink and PGA winner Jason Dufner.

There also are 35 players who won on the PGA Tour the past two seasons. This month's John Deere Classic champ Sepp Straka, Emiliano Grillo, Cameron Young and Cink all contended through the first two days of this week's British Open.

After his win in Blaine, Finau won the next week by five shots at Detroit, by four shots at the Houston Open in November, and by three at the Mexico Open in April.

He said his 3M Open win brought "definitely a little mental change" and crucial putts made provided a needed "cushion" in his succeeding victories. Finau has two top 10 finishes since then and two missed cuts, including an unsuccessful Detroit defense early this month.

"That led into the nice stretch I've been on," Finau said.

Tony's travels

Finau, 33, turned pro in 2007, played on the mini- and Web.com tours and competed in Golf Channel's "Big Break" before reaching the PGA Tour full time in 2015.

He still seeks his first major championship trophy despite 10 finishes in the top 10, including four in the top five. He made the cut right on the number at last summer's British Open at St. Andrews and finished tied for 28th after he shot 70-66 on the weekend.

"I can't say I felt like I was going to win, but my game was trending in the right direction," Finau said, referring to the 3M Open.

He missed this year's British Open cut Friday after he shot 73-75, but returns this week to a place where he said he feels "good vibes."

"It all started at the 3M," Finau said. "I'm just excited I won there, excited to be back."