PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship preview

The PGA Tour regular season will conclude Sunday when a winner is crowned at the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Originally named the Greater Greensboro Open, the tournament will afford the winner one last chance to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begins Aug. 8.

Following last weekend’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, many of the top names in golf have chosen to sit out Wyndham, which leaves the door open for a newcomer to claim victory.

A surefire favorite

The favorite to win in Greensboro, however, is quite familiar with the tournament. Webb Simpson (+900) is nearly a shoe-in to place in the top 10 if you look at his history in the Wyndham Championship. The 33-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, has played in the tournament every year since 2009 and won the event in 2011. He tied for second last year, finished third in 2017 and has fared worse than 22nd only twice in 10 tries. Simpson also finished second at the St. Jude Invitational last weekend, three strokes behind winner Brooks Koepka.

Aside from Simpson, Jordan Spieth (+1600) may finally have his game in order to secure his first Wyndham title since losing in the playoff in 2013, the only other appearance he’s made in the event. After a rocky start to the season, Spieth tied for third at the PGA Championship, had a seventh-place finish at the Memorial Tournament in May, came in 20th at the Open Championship and was 12th at last week’s St. Jude Invitational.

The three-time major winner has the putter to succeed at Sedgefield, which is considered one of the easiest par-70s on the PGA Tour. Spieth is sixth in strokes gained putting and first in putting average on Tour, plus he’s 14th in birdie average, all key measures of performance at Sedgefield.

Six of the last nine winners at the Wyndham Championship ranked in the top 60 for birdie average on tour, while seven of the last nine placed in the top 60 for strokes gained putting. Other stats to consider with Sedgefield’s 7,127-yard course are driving accuracy, greens in regulation, proximity to the hole and scrambling.

Looking for a longshot

You may not find much value in betting Simpson or Spieth, so if you’re looking for a longer shot to back based on the metrics above, one player to consider is Sungjae Im (+6000). The 21-year-old from South Korea has shown decent form since his seventh-place finish at the Canadian Open in June, and has placed near the top 20 in every tournament, other than his missed cut at the Open Championship.

He is ranked 11th in scrambling on Tour, 27th in scoring average and 32nd in birdie average. He’s certainly capable of a top-five (+975) or top-10 finish (+480), but considering Sedgefield’s history of first-time PGA winners, don’t be surprised to find him with tour victory No. 1 at the end of the day Sunday.

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