Lee Hodges gets his first PGA tour victory with win at the 3M Open
Lee Hodges rarely gets rattled, except perhaps during Alabama football games when he's rooting for his beloved Crimson Tide.
After using that unflappable demeanor to keep control of the 3M Open, Hodges finally let loose.
Hodges shot a 67 in the final round on Sunday for a wire-to-wire title at the 3M Open and his first tour victory, setting tournament records with a 260 and a seven-stroke win.
"The process I went through, I'll take this week forever," Hodges said.
"I'll just try to keep replicating this week every time I show up to a tournament."
Hodges, who started the day with a five-stroke lead on J.T. Poston, was up by three entering the par-5 last hole on his 65th career start.
After Poston's go-for-broke approach yielded a triple bogey, Hodges tapped in a short putt for his third birdie of the round.
"I had to try and give it a shot and see if there was some way I could make 3 there at the end and put some pressure on Lee," Poston said.
The 28-year-old Alabama native hugged and hoisted his wife, Savannah, in celebration after she hustled out to the green to greet him.
Then Jay Seawell, Hodges' college coach at Alabama, surprised him with a special appearance and a milkshake in hand. Not bad for a guy from the small town of Ardmore.
"I'm super proud to be from there and represent those people," Hodges said. "Man, I'm sure there is a party going on in north Alabama right now."
Poston shot a 69 to drop into a threeway tie for second place with Martin Laird and Kevin Streelman. Dylan Wu shot a 64 to match Keith Mitchell for fifth at 16 under.
Tony Finau, the defending champion and highest-ranked player at 10th in the FedEx Cup standings participating in this field, shot a 70 to land in a three-way tie for seventh.
Hodges shot a 63 on Thursday, a 64 on Friday and a 66 on Saturday to take a commanding lead into the final round at the TPC Twin Cities course in Blaine on a former sod farm in suburban Minneapolis. He had two eagles and two bogeys on Sunday.