Aaron Baddeley couldn’t help but check the leaderboard. His chances of winning the 3M Open were long gone – Lee Hodges ensured that, but Baddeley still had plenty to play for on Sunday afternoon.
Like most, Baddeley was jockeying for FedExCup positioning. But he didn’t have the luxury of one last chance at the Wyndham Championship.
Playing under past champion status, Baddeley was too low on the priority ranking to qualify for the Regular Season finale next week through his category alone. The only way his Playoffs hopes remained was with a top 10, which would automatically qualify him for a spot at Sedgefield Country Club.
He knew it when he arrived in Minnesota and called the 3M Open a “four-day qualifier,” and he felt it walking the back nine of TPC Twin Cities on Sunday.
“(I) just knew that if I made a few birdies coming in, I would be in a good spot,” the four-time TOUR winner said.
He teetered on the edge of that top 10 for a while. As the rest of the field made up ground with early birdies, an even-par front-nine briefly jettisoned Baddeley from the all-important threshold. He chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 12th to get back inside, but a bogey on the next hole, the par-3 13th, put his position back in peril. A birdie on the drivable par-4 16th provided him the cushion he needed to finish T7 at 15 under.
The finish vaulted him to 92nd in the standings, 137 points behind Austin Eckroat, who is 70th. Baddeley will likely need a top-three finish at the Wyndham Championship to qualify for the Playoffs.
Even if he can’t parlay that finish in Greensboro, North Carolina, next week, Baddeley is happy with his position. He’s in an excellent spot to lock up his card for 2024 during the FedExCup Fall.
“This goal at the start of the year was, number one was trying to have a win, and secondly was secure the Top-125 (category),” said Baddeley, who has finished in the top 125 once in his last seven years. “Coming out of the past champion category is never that easy because you don’t know when you’re going to play. To be almost locked up for that is pretty awesome.”
Source : PGA Tour
