This involves lots of interaction as prominent athletes such as Minnesota Vikings legend John Randle and Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley mingle with youngsters to expose them to golf.
“It’s amazing to be out here with the kids and get ’em active outside,” said St. Paul’s Michael Floyd, who played wide receiver in the NFL from 2012-2019. “It’s amazing to me and I love being a part of it.”
The kids and the athletes got a chance to try out 3M’s interactive games in the fan village. There are also hands-on exhibits that let these youngsters know about future career opportunities.
It’s a great way for the 3M Open to give back.
“First team Minnesota fronts this and they want young people to understand there are some great things you can learn from the game of golf,” said 3M Chief Public Affairs Officer Torie Clarke. “Great life lessons you can learn from the game of golf. They also want them to understand there are lots of careers that go along with golf. Not everybody’s gonna be Tiger Woods, but maybe you want to be a course designer. Maybe you want to get into golf club design – those types of things. So they’re a terrific partner for us.”
“It’s awesome for our kids,” said Randle, who is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “Especially the First Tee. That allows our kids to meet other kids from different parts of the country, different parts of the world and allows them to make relationships that will last them a lifetime.”
“Honestly it’s one of my favorite events to do,” Conley said. “It’s a great opportunity to get into the community and expose different people, kids to a different sport. Just a different idea of fun. A different idea of opportunity for them that they might not otherwise be exposed to. Golf’s a game that I’ve grown to love. It’s a game that I think can teach a lot of life lessons within it. I think this event, just being a part of this whole community aspect of it, allows those kids, those families to feel that and hopefully spark something for their future.”
Minnesota’s on the golf map
As the 3M Open evolves on the PGA Tour, Blaine continues to get rave reviews for the way the tournament is run. Minnesota is clearly on the golf map in the US.
“I’ve honestly been around a lot of different tournaments,” said Conley, who has played for Memphis, Utah and Minnesota in the NBA. “This is probably by far one of the more interactive, more fun ways that they include the community, the kids and allow us to have these opportunities. My kids were a part of this last year where they came in ran around, got to meet a lot of people, experience a lot of different things. I think it’s brilliant the way the way they’ve handled it.”
“I love every big event – especially golf to come here to Minnesota,” said Floyd, who went to Notre Dame. “Minnesota’s the best place to be in the summer time. The fact that you can have a PGA event here is just so exciting for the community, for the state of Minnesota. It gets people to come and experience it. Even if you don’t have too much experience in golf you get out here and see a great event.”
“When people come here they are not expecting Minnesota to be a state of golf,” Randle said. I think that’s a nice little addition that we can say about Minnesota. It just tells people that’s weve got it all – you name the sport, we’ve got it.”
Golf 4 All Day was a great way to jump start the 3M open. Even Twins mascot TC the Bear showed up to be part of the fun. Randle of course always has fun and never stops cheering for his old purple team.
“Skol baby,” Randle said. “Skol.”
The 3M Open runs through Sunday.
