Jay Haas wins the 2011 3M Championship!

Jay Haas birdied the par-five 18^th hole to win the 2011 3M Championship in dramatic fashion by one stroke over Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman and Peter Senior. Haas’s 54-hole total of 15-under par gave him his 15th title on the Champions Tour. This win was Haas’s first since the 2009 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship.

Spectators were treated to an exciting final round as the leaderboard changed frequently throughout the day. Twenty-one players finished within five strokes of the winning score. One of the dramatic moments in the day occurred when Tom Watson drained a 70 foot eagle putt on the 18th hole to take the early clubhouse lead at 12-under par, after shooting 65 on the day. He finished in a tie for sixth place with Mark O’Meara. Olin Browne had the low round of the day and the tournament after firing a 9-under par 63 on Sunday to finish in a tie for eighth place.

For the eighth straight year, the 3M Championship also held the Greats of Golf Challenge, a tournament within the tournament sponsored by Post-It Notes Brand® that features legends of the game – including Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Lee Trevino – in a team better-ball format.

The best field of players the 3M Championship has ever had combined with beautiful weather, the opportunity to see some of the legends of the game entertain the fans, and an exciting leaderboard filled with the names of marquee players resulted in the largest galleries the tournament has ever had.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

“With the commitment of Fred Couples we expect 30 of the top 30 money winners in our field. Our sponsors and spectators will see our strongest field ever,” said Hollis Cavner, tournament director for the 3M Championship. Other expected golfing legends include Tom Watson, Nick Price, Tom Lehman and Mark O’Meara.

The 3M Championship will again offer weeklong free admittance to the general public.  The tournament features Pro-Ams early in the week with tournament competition Friday-Sunday.  New to the tournament this year is a Friday concert featuring G.B. Leighton immediately following play. The 3M Championship includes the Post-It® Products Greats of Golf Challenge a tournament-within-a tournament featuring a team competition and autograph sessions with such legends as Arnold Palmer, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Lee Trevino on Saturday and Sunday. “The Greats of Golf Challenge is one of the many unique features of the 3M Championship. There is not another event where you can get this close to the legends of the game,” said Jeff Lavers, vice president of marketing, sales and corporate communications for 3M.

This year will mark the 19th anniversary of the tournament. The 3M Championship will be held August 1 – 7, 2011 at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, MN. The tournament expects to donate $1.3 million this year to charity. The tournament has raised over $17.5 million since 1993. The primary beneficiaries are health care programs at Allina’s Abbott Northwestern, United, and Mercy & Unity Hospitals.

Fan favorites Fuzzy Zoeller, Bernhard Langer, Tom Kite, Fred Funk and Ben Crenshaw are slated to head an all-star line-up at this year’s 3M Championship.  Scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut is former NBC golf analyst and 8-time PGA Tour winner, Brad Faxon. “We are thrilled with the level of competition expected for the tournament. We have twelve Hall-of-Fame Members coming. This field is the strongest of any event on the Champions Tour this year,” said Cavner.