The 3M Championship is a professional golf tournament on the Champions Tour, considered the top tour in the world for 50-and-over golf pros. It is a three-round, 54-hole tournament with a stroke-play format. There is no cut. A playoff, if necessary, is sudden-death and takes place immediately after conclusion of the scheduled 54 holes.
The 3M Championship has been played annually since 1993 under several different names: first as the Burnet Senior Classic, then the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic. In 2001, 3M became title sponsor and the tournament took its current name. Among the golfers on the tournament’s roster of champions are World Golf Hall of Fame members Chi Chi Rodriguez (winner of the first tournament in 1993), Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer.
The tournament has always been played in the Minnesota. Tournament proceeds are donated to Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation, Mercy & Unity Hospitals Foundation and United Hospital Foundation, health organizations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
2021 3M Championship Tournament
Kenny Perry won this tournament for the third time, finishing at 21-under 195. That was three strokes beter than the runner-up, Wes Short Jr. Perry previously won the 3M Championship in 2014 and 2015. This was his 10th career win on the Champions Tour.
3M Championship Golf Course
The tournament is played at TPC Twin Cities, which is located in a suburb just north of Minneapolis. TPC Twin Cities is part of the TPC network of golf courses that are owned by the PGA Tour. It is a private, members-only golf club.
For the 3M Championship, TPC Twin Cities sets up as a par-72 layout that plays 7,164 yards. It opened in 2000, designed by Arnold Palmer with assistance from Minnesota native and former British Open winner Tom Lehman.
TPC Twin Cities has been the site of the 3M Championship tournament since 2001. Prior to that, the tournament was played at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, Minn.
Past Winners
There is only one three-time champion for this tournament. Hale Irwin won it in 1997, 1999 and 2002. And in its 25-year history, only two other golfers have won it more than once: Bernhard Langer (2009 and 2012) and Kenny Perry (2014 and 2015). Perry is the only back-to-back champion.
| Year | Winner | Score |
| 2021 | Kenny Perry | 195 |
| 2021 | Paul Goydos | 196 |
| 2016 | Joe Durant | 197 |
| 2015 | Kenny Perry | 198 |
| 2014 | Kenny Perry | 193 |
| 2013 | Tom Pernice Jr. | 199 |
| 2012 | Bernhard Langer | 198 |
| 2011 | Jay Haas | 201 |
| 2010 | David Frost | 191 |
| 2009 | Bernhard Langer | 200 |
| 2008 | R.W. Eaks | 193 |
| 2007 | D.A. Weibring | 198 |
| 2006 | David Edwards | 204 |
| 2005 | Tom Purtzer | 201 |
| 2004 | Tom Kite | 203 |
| 2003 | Wayne Levi | 205 |
| 2002 | Hale Irwin | 204 |
| 2001 | Bruce Lietzke | 207 |
| 2000 | Ed Dougherty | 197 |
| 1999 | Hale Irwin | 201 |
| 1998 | Leonard Thompson | 134 |
| 1997 | Hale Irwin | 199 |
| 1996 | Vicente Fernandez | 205 |
| 1995 | Raymond Floyd | 201 |
| 1994 | Dave Stockton | 203 |
| 1993 | Chi Chi Rodriguez | 201 |
The 1998 tournament was shortened to two rounds (36 holes) due to bad weather. That year, the 3M Championship was decided by playoff for the first time. Playoffs were also required to determine the 2016 and 2021 champions.
Greats of Golf Challenge
The 3M Championship includes an exhibition scramble on the Saturday of tournament week called the Greats of Golf Challenge. The challenge features some of the biggest names in golf who are no longer competitive on the championships tour. 2021 participants include Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Pat Bradley, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Lee Trevino.
Scoring Records at the 3M Championship Tournament
The 54-hole scoring record—the lowest winning total in tournament history—is 191, established by David Frost in 2010. Frost also set the event’s score-in-relation-to-par record that year at 25-under. Frost’s 191 total matches the Champions Tour’s all-time record for lowest winning score in a three-round tournament.
The 18-hole scoring record is 60, established by Paul Goydos during his 2021 victory. That lowered the previous record, shared by Frost (2010) and Kenny Perry (2015), by one stroke. Only one round in Champions Tour history has ever been lower.
Frost’s victory in 2010 also established the event’s record for largest margin of victory—Frost won by seven strokes over runner-up Mark Calcavecchia.
3M Championship Key Takeaways
- Tournament Name: 3M Championship
- Description: A 54-hole golf tournament that is part of the Champions Tour.
- Past Winners: Hale Irwin, David Frost, Bernhard Langer
- Location: TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota
