After taking a week off for the Olympics, the PGA Tour is back for this week’s Wyndham Championship.
It is the final event before the FedExCup Playoffs, which means this is the final chance for golfers to improve their spot in the standings or potentially sneak into next week’s event with a good finish.
Sedgefield Country Club is a par-70 course in North Carolina that measures 7,131 yards.
It’s one of the few courses on tour where any type of golfer can contend.
Due to its short length and narrow fairways, driving accuracy is more important than driving distance.
We should see a lot of golfers club down off the tee, which helps explain why the fairways at Sedgefield have been easy to hit over the years.
The greens are 6,500 square feet on average, which is larger than the tour average.
With the fairways and greens both being easy to hit, approach play and putting will be emphasized.
There aren’t a ton of penalty strokes on the course, but water is technically in play on six of the 18 holes. The greens feature bermudagrass and should run around 12.5 on the stimpmeter. Also, course history has been predictive over the years.
I’m backing golfers with shorter odds, which is why I only have three bets this week.
Sungjae Im (14/1, FanDuel)
Though he’s not the overwhelming favorite, Im is the class of this field. After a slow start to the season, he has finished T12 or better in eight of his last 10 starts. He doesn’t have a win during that stretch, but he seems to be inching closer.
He’s always been an accurate driver and has one of the best short games on tour. He’s made great strides with his iron play recently, gaining 15 strokes on approach in his last four events.
Im seems to play his best golf on courses that are par-70s and that feature bermudagrass greens, so it’s no surprise he’s played so well at this event in the past. He’s made the cut all five times he’s played Sedgefield, with three top-10 finishes. If he continues this form, it’s only a matter of time before he’s back in the winner’s circle.
Billy Horschel (25/1, BetMGM)
Typically, I wouldn’t say I like to back golfers who are coming off contending at a major, but Horschel has had three weeks to rest up and get ready for the final stretch of the season.
He tends to be streaky, so don’t be surprised if he parlays the second-place finish at The Open into a strong FedExCup Playoff run. His form has been solid for a while, as he’s posted a win and three more top-10 finishes in his last 10 events.
There might not be another golfer in the field with a better track record at Sedgefield than Horschel, who has finished T11 or better in five of his last seven starts at this event.
Betting on golf?
Brian Harman (30/1, Bet365)
Harman tends to post a lot of top-10 finishes throughout the year, but there are only a handful of courses where he can actually win, and Sedgefield is one of them.
The course requires accuracy off the tee, good iron play and a stout short game. Harman always has had the accuracy and the short game, but the recent iron play is what stands out. In his last 14 events, he’s gained more than five strokes on approach five times. This is an impressive number for someone who’s not exactly known for his approach play.
He’s had mixed results at this event over the years, but among them are second- and sixth-place finishes.