Played at the much-lauded Sedgefield Country Club, the Wyndham Championship stands alone as a worthy stop for a PGA Tour event.
But it gets extra significance each year due to it being the final qualifying event for the three-event FedEx Cup Playoff series.
This year only the top 70 make it through and that’s down from the usual 125.
The 55-player difference means there are some surprise names on the brink of missing the Playoffs this year.
They include Shane Lowry at 76th, Justin Thomas at 79th, Adam Scott at 81st and Gary Woodland at 97th. All need to make a move.
Sedgefield Country Club is a Donald Ross design measuring in at 7,131 yards. It has Bermuda greens.
Every edition since 2021 has been won between 20-under and 22-under while six of the last 13 winners were from outside the United States.
The weather forecast suggests rain at times while winds are light over the final three rounds.
Angles to consider
1/ Course form
This is a place which produces horses-for-courses and there are plenty in the field this week. That idea has been franked by Davis Love (three wins), Brandt Snedeker (two wins) and Webb Simpson (one win and four other top threes).
2/ Strokes Gained: Putting
Tom Kim ranked 1st for SGP when winning by five shots last year. 2021 champion Kevin Kisner was 8th and 2020 shock winner Jim Herman 3rd. It’s rare to find someone with a podium finish here who didn’t putt well.
3/ Par 4s
It’s a par 70 with two extra par 4s so playing those holes well is of high importance. So much so that in the last four years, the winners either topped Par 4 Scoring or played them in just one shot more than the Par 4 leader(s).
Selections
The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected.
Denny McCarthy
McCarthy shot bookend 65s in 2019, closed with a 63 to finish ninth in 2020 and added two more 65s on the way to a top 15 in 2021. He’s one of the very best putters in the game (3rd for SGP this season) and has form of 6-7-2 in his last three non-Majors. Finally, he ranks 3rd in Par 4 Scoring this season.
J.T. Poston
Poston is a course winner after shooting a 62 to snatch victory in 2019. He’s ranked 10th, 3rd and 2nd for SG: Putting on his last three starts on American soil and is 53rd in Par 4 Scoring. He finished runner-up last week and that followed two recent top six finishes at the John Deere Classic and Scottish Open.
Eric Cole
Cole is an interesting prospect this week. He doesn’t have the course form (it’s his debut) but he’s spent most of this season shining at unfamiliar venues. His results include second at the Honda Classic, fifth at the Mexico Open and sixth in the Canadian Open. He’s 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting this season and 30th for Par 4 Scoring and, potentially, looks a strong fit.
Tips 1-2; -2.80pts
1.25pts e.w. Denny McCarthy at 25/1 (General 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc
1pt e.w. J.T. Poston at 28/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power, Hills, Skybet, bet365 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) mc
0.75pts e.w. Eric Cole at 55/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10) 14th
