BLAINE, Minn. – TPC Twin Cities has a flair for the dramatic. It was here that J.T. Poston a suffered heartbreaking triple bogey on his final hole in 2023, missing a playoff with Lee Hodges. It was here Matthew Wolff sealed his lone PGA TOUR victory with a walk-off eagle. Even this week, the course has already delivered its fair share of theatrics – Adam Svensson pouring in a 48-foot eagle putt on the 18th for a record-setting 60, and Thorbjørn Olesen electrifying the crowd with a hole-in-one to vault him into the chase.

Now, the stage is set for another chapter as Olesen and Akshay Bhatia top a tightly packed leaderboard. With four players one back of them and nine players within three, the canvas is wide open. Here are five storylines that will define the final round at the 3M Open.

1. How far can Chris Gotterup’s heater run?

When golf fans imagine a player “on a tear,” a few archetypes come to mind. Scottie Scheffler, the world’s dominant No. 1, stacking majors and TOUR titles with clinical inevitability. Rory McIlroy, finally seizing his long-awaited career Grand Slam, and further cementing his place in the game’s uppermost echelon.

Chris Gotterup may not yet belong in those same conversations, but if he keeps his foot firmly on the accelerator, perhaps he should. His breakthrough victory at the Genesis Scottish Open, holding off McIlroy among the rest of golf’s elite, was no fluke. He validated it with a solo third in his Open Championship debut, proving the win was no anomaly. And now, once again, he finds himself squarely in contention, two back of the lead with his foot seemingly glued to the accelerator.

“Someone asked me last week if you've ever been on a heater,” Gotterup said earlier in the week. “And I said I guess this is kind of my first one. I'm just going to try to ride it out as long as I can.”

Could this be the continuation of a meteoric ascent – a young player finding his ceiling in real time – or the moment where the streak finally blinks? Sunday will provide the answer.

2. Can a lurking heavyweight strike?

Few venues on TOUR invite volatility quite like this one, and you don’t have to dig deep into the archives to find evidence that TPC Twin Cities is fertile ground for wild Sunday swings. Just two years ago, Tony Finau erased a five-shot deficit in the final round to win the 3M Open, staging the largest Sunday comeback in tournament history.

This week has already reminded us of how quickly momentum can tilt: Svensson’s 60 was matched later in the week by Kurt Kitayama, and Alex Noren’s 62 was bookended by two bogeys. When the conditions and form align, the margins can dissolve in an instant. Early tee times could unlock another scoring window, and looming within striking distance are quite a few players with pedigrees that demand respect.

Wyndham Clark (14-under), Sam Burns (11-under) and Adam Scott (11-under) lurk just far enough back to swing freely, chase a number and force those at the top to look over their shoulders. All three have the firepower – and the experience – to flip the script when it matters most. But can they summon it in a final round that will likely demand both precision and patience? Time will tell. On this course, no lead feels entirely safe.

3. Will the TOUR crown its 1,000th new winner?

This season has been a renaissance for fresh faces. From Thomas Detry at the WM Phoenix Open to Ryan Gerard at the Barracuda Championship, 11 players have claimed their maiden TOUR victory in 2025 – three of them rookies (Karl Vilips, William Mouw, Aldrich Potgieter). If a first-timer wins tomorrow, they’ll become the 1,000th unique champion in PGA TOUR history, a milestone moment.

Several intriguing names are poised to chase that slice of history: co-leader Olesen, Takumi Kanya, a former No. 1-ranked amateur in the world (17-under), and 29-year-old Sam Stevens (17-under).

4. Can Pierceson Coody author a career-writing finish?

Former University of Texas standout Pierceson Coody arrived on TOUR with a pedigree few could match. He topped the 2022 PGA TOUR University rankings to earn direct admission to the Korn Ferry Tour, then fast-tracked his way to becoming a PGA TOUR member with two Korn Ferry Tour titles. But earning your PGA TOUR card is one thing. Keeping it is another. After finishing 131st in the FedExCup standings, outside the window for retaining full status, Coody was left in a career limbo familiar to so many young pros: conditional PGA TOUR status for 2025, full Korn Ferry Tour status and an uncertain path forward.

This year, Coody has lived a nomadic existence that only a select few in professional golf can understand: double-dipping between Tours in a bid to keep his future alive on both fronts. After a third-round 67 that has him two off the lead, Coody sets himself up for a Sunday that can rewrite his career trajectory. A victory tomorrow would earn him immediate PGA TOUR status along with the benefits that go to TOUR tournament winners – spots in next year's Masters and PGA Championship as well as a two-year exemption on TOUR. Another great round and Coody can say farewell to the Korn Ferry Tour.

5. Will the youth movement steal the spotlight?

Michael La Sasso may sit too far back to realistically win without a historic Sunday finish, but for the reigning NCAA Division I champion, Sunday carries weight. After four straight missed cuts to begin his PGA TOUR career, the 21-year-old amateur finally steadied himself this week. He snuck inside the cutline with a gritty 68 on Friday, then carded a career-best 63 early Saturday to rocket up the leaderboard.

For La Sasso, a top-10 finish would unlock a spot in next week’s Wyndham Championship – and perhaps more importantly, signal that he’s beginning to find his footing among the pros. He currently sits at 13-under, five off the lead and in a tie for 16th.

“I spent a lot of time with David (Ford) earlier in the summer, trying to just piggyback off of how he's done,” La Sasso said after his third round. “I've played a lot of golf with Luke Clanton recently and I play a lot with Jackson Koivun as well. Just to be able to know that I'm just as good as them and just kind of pacing myself in a week. … I think I'm very capable of playing with them and being able to do what they do.”

The stakes for La Sasso are clear: A top‑10 finish would punch his ticket into next week’s Wyndham Championship, and perhaps more importantly, signal that he’s beginning to find his footing on TOUR. The PGA TOUR University program has already produced stars among the likes of Luke Clanton, Jackson Koivun and David Ford, and La Sasso, the Jack Nicklaus Division I Player of the Year, is slotted third in the preseason rankings ahead of his senior year at Ole Miss.

If he can push even further — mount a Sunday charge and summon one more magical round — he may have to rethink his senior year plans altogether.