Scottie Scheffler seeks to stay sharp and savor the hospitality in his 3M Open debut

BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler left the British Open with some frustration after another near miss in a major championship and traveled straight to Minnesota for his first appearance in the 3M Open.

A week off after the last major of the season would have made sense for the world's top-ranked player, but Scheffler was focused on keeping his game sharp ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs — and find some off-the-course respite for him and his supporting cast.

“The people have been tremendous, the fans have been really nice to me so far, and the tournament seems to do a really good job just taking care of everybody,” Scheffler said Wednesday after playing a nine-hole pro-am with Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell. “Clubhouse has been good. Food’s been really good. Family’s taken care of. Caddie’s taken care of. Those are the things at a tournament when everybody around me is getting taken care of as well, it’s really easy for us to come and play.”

Hollis Cavner is happy to hear that. The tournament's director and chief executive officer of Pro Links Sports has made player hospitality a priority since the 3M Open was added to the PGA Tour schedule in 2019.

From the catered family dinners on the clubhouse patio each night to the inflatables and magicians for the kids, the event at TPC Twin Cities a half-hour's drive north of Minneapolis has become well-regarded by players, even if its calendar placement has limited the star power in the fields.

“People seem to be really thankful that we’re here, which is surprising for a golf tournament,” Scheffler said. “I was kind of taken aback by how nice people have been.”

Scheffler's presence has put the tournament on pace for record attendance.

“Every tent and every skybox sold out for the pro-am,” Cavner said. “We're really getting in position now where we feel like we've arrived.”

Though this will be his fifth tournament in six weeks, including two in Britain, Scheffler didn't want to enter the playoffs after three weeks off. Plus, Cavner, who is a longtime friend of Scheffler's coach Randy Smith and agent Blake Smith, has been relentless in his requests to have Scheffler make his first visit to Minnesota. Caddie Ted Scott also has a positive view of the course from his previous work with Bubba Watson.

“We've been talking to him for years, working him and working him and working him,” Cavner said. “Finally, they relented.”

There are several players in contention for the playoffs who could use a strong showing this week to climb above the cut. Jason Day, Brian Harman, Tom Hoge and 2022 3M Open champion Tony Finau are currently outside the top 70.

Scheffler, who had his third top-four finish in four majors this year at the British Open, has not won a tournament since The American Express in California in January.

“One of the things that I’ve always kind of prided myself on is the consistency. That’s something that shows that I’m playing some pretty good golf,” Scheffler said. “It just hasn’t been quite good enough to win some tournaments. I still feel like my game’s in a good spot and I’ve played some nice golf. I haven’t played any great golf yet, but I’ve played some nice golf over the course of the season. I think if you took a blind look at some of my results, I think a lot of people would say that’s a really good season.”

The promotion-and-relegation system the PGA Tour has decided to implement starting in 2028 will require purses of at least $20 million for the 15 regular-season events included in the new Championship Series, with the rest going to the second-tier Challenger Series with minimum purses of $4 million. The 3M Open has an $8.8 million purse this year, and thus would need a big bump in sponsor cash to stay in the top tier.

“We feel very comfortable where we're at with the tour,” Cavner said. “This is a big market. This is something the tour wants, so I think that the 3M Open going forward is going to be just fine. I told our team, ‘Don’t think about ’28. Let's be the best of the best in ’26 and ’27, and then ’28 takes care of itself.'”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Scottie Scheffler of the United States tees off on the 11th hole during the third day of the British Open Golf championships at Royal Birkdale golf club, in Southport, England, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Scottie Scheffler speaks at a news conference after a practice round at the 3M Open golf tournament, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (Justin Enriquez/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Scottie Scheffler plays a shot during a practice round at the 3M Open golf tournament, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (Justin Enriquez/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Scottie Scheffler watches a shot during a practice round at the 3M Open golf tournament, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (Justin Enriquez/Minnesota Star Tribune via AP)

Tesla said Wednesday that its profits fell last quarter as the car company run by Elon Musk shoveled more money into research and development, cutting into profits from a sharp increase in vehicle sales.

The Austin, Texas, company reported second-quarter net income of $1.11 billion, or 32 cents per share. Excluding certain items, earnings were 33 cents per share, well short of the 53 cents per share forecast by Wall Street analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 26% to $28.24 billion, beating analysts’ forecast of $26.42 billion.

While the core car business had a solid quarter, Tesla is now focused on building out the infrastructure and AI software that underpins its robotaxis and robotics businesses, which Musk has said are the future of the company. And doing so requires a lot more spending.

Research and development spending surged about 49% from a year earlier to $2.37 billion — higher than its been going back at least four quarters.

“We’re investing a lot in growing the core business and really preparing for the future,” Musk said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts, promising that the spending will yield “incredible returns.”

CFO Vaibhav Taneja told analysts that the company expects capital expenditures will increase further in the second half of this year, driving full-year spending to more than $25 billion.

Taneja also forecast that spending on capital expenditures will continue growing for the next “2 to 3 years,” as the company seeks to expand its fleet of robotaxis, add AI compute infrastructure and build more production capacity for its Optimus humanoid robot, among several other products.

Tesla shares fell 4.1% in after-hours trading shortly. The stock ended the regular trading session 1.3% lower and is down just under 17% this year.

Earlier this month, Tesla reported that it delivered 480,216 cars in the second quarter, a 25% increase from the same period last year and its second straight quarterly gain. The sales also exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to a FactSet survey.

Tesla’s improving sales this year mark a big turnaround from a year ago, when many Europeans refused to buy the company’s cars because of Musk’s embrace of far-right political candidates in elections there.

The vast majority of the company’s vehicle deliveries last quarter were comprised of its Model Y crossover SUV and Model 3 sedan. Tesla rolled out less expensive versions of both models last year in hopes of boosting sales. It also cut the cost of leasing and loans in Europe.

Sales were also helped by a surge of EV buying in general in Europe as gas and diesel prices have risen due to the Iran war.

Just a few months ago, Tesla reported sales had fallen in 2025 for a second year in a row and it had to yield its crown as the world’s largest EV maker to China’s BYD.

Tesla's EV sales accounted for most of the company’s overall revenue, but the company got a boost from its energy generation and battery storage business, which posted revenue of $3.14 billion, a 13% gain compared to the second quarter last year.

The company also benefited from increased subscriptions for its driver assistance feature, available in the U.S., called Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The number of FSD subscribers has now reached nearly 1.5 million globally.

Tesla said it has now rolled out its robotaxi service to seven major metro areas in the U.S., and that it it expects production on its Optimus humanoid robot to begin later this year.

The company has also been investing in building new battery factories and in the infrastructure needed to produce its Tesla Semi and Cybercab.

The company noted that it has begun production of the Cybercab at a factory in Texas, and that the Tesla Semi is on track for production this year at a factory in Nevada.

Tesla executives didn't offer more specifics on how many robotaxis or Cybercabs will be on the road, nor how soon.

Musk noted that the company needs more time to test the Cybercab chassis and doesn't want to rush the expansion of robotaxis, saying he prefers to take a cautious approach.

“We’re working on what we believe is the most ambitious buildout of advanced infrastructure manufacturing capacity ever in history,” he said. “Our goals are very ambitious for robotaxi, but we do need to be cautious about causing any accidents or causing any harm to anyone."

FILE - A sign for Tesla is displayed at a facility on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FILE - A Tesla vehicle is seen at a Tesla facility Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)