The PGA Tour's concludes its regular season this week at the Wyndham Championship.
With the FedExCup Playoffs looming, many of the top names will take this week off, but the Wyndham Championship does serve as a final chance for those outside the top 70 to get their spot.
The Course
The Wyndham Championship takes place at Sedgefield Country Club, a Donald Ross design that has been host to this event since 2008.
Sedgefield Country Club, a par-70, measures 7,131 yards.
Despite the lack of par-5s, the winner routinely reaches 20-under par. It is a simple course, where accuracy off the tee and on approach reign supreme. Couple those with a hot putter, and you’ll usually find the winner.
Webb Simpson has been the prototype for the skillset we’re looking for at this event. He has a couple of runner-up finishes, along with a win in 2011. Kevin Kisner, Brandt Snedeker, Henrik Stenson and Si Woo Kim also have recent wins here.
All these players are known more for their iron play — or putting — than for their driving ability.
This place has some notable ties with Harbour Town and the RBC Heritage. Simpson, Snedeker and Carl Pettersson have won both. C.T. Pan has won at Harbour Town and been the runner-up here. Kim has won here and lost at Harbour Town in a playoff.
The Favorites
We really don't have much of a favorite this week.
Hideki Matsuyama tops the board at +1800, while Russell Henley, Sungjae Im, Sam Burns and Denny McCarthy all come in around the +2000s range.
Of the group, Henley and Im have the best results here with a trio of top-10 finishes over the past four years.
The Midtier
My card focuses mainly on the range starting with Si Woo Kim at +3300 and J.T. Poston at +3500, both past winners of this event. Kim has the stronger history here with a trio of top-five finishes.
Pick: Si Woo Kim Outright |
However, Poston enters in better form, including a runner-up finish at last week's 3M Open.
Pick: J.T. Poston Outright |
Next, I'll go to Cameron Davis at +4000. Davis has some form and history here that seems to be flying a little under the radar. He's finished inside the top 25 in both his starts at Sedgefield and was also 10th last week at the 3M Open.
Pick: Cameron Davis Outright |
I'm also going with Alex Noren at +8000. Noren hasn't played here much, but it should should fit his style of accuracy coupled with good putting. His game is also in solid shape as he has four top-25 finishes over his past six starts.
Pick: Alex Noren Outright |
Garrick Higgo is my last outright play at +9000. The bomber isn't a prototypical fit for this place, but his accuracy off the tee has impressed in recent weeks. He's gained fairways in five of his past six starts, and his results have improved in each of his past four events. He's as long as anyone but has seemingly dialed that distance back a bit in favor of more accurate play. That tweak has limited the mistakes and led to improved results.
Pick: Garrick Higgo Outright |
