The final tournament on the regular PGA Tour season takes place this week in the form of the Wyndham Championship and as ever with this event there are many tournaments within a tournament.
Those who are not yet in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup points list have just four days to get themselves in there else their season is done while those yet to secure their card for next season must do so this week. Then there is the tournament itself with all the benefits that go with it so there are endless storylines ahead over the four days.
Recent Winners
2016 – Si-woo Kim
2015 – Davis Love III
2014 – Camilo Villegas
2013 – Patrick Reed
2012 – Sergio Garcia
2011 – Webb Simpson
2010 – Arjun Atwal
2009 – Ryan Moore
2008 – Carl Pettersson
2007 – Brandt Snedeker
The Course
As ever it is the Sedgefield Country Club that hosts the tournament this week. There have been no changes to the track since the last time it hosted the event so the course remains a par 70 which measures 7,127 yards.
A look at the scoring in this tournament highlights that this is not the toughest test the players will get in their careers with the only real defence being the rough around the greens which makes scrambling a bit of a nightmare. That aside there are no demons in the track so those who hit plenty of GIRs should make hay in the event.
The Field
With four big tournaments to come to finish off the PGA Tour season and the previous two weeks being mentally challenging it is not a surprise that the very leading lights of the Tour are giving this week a miss but there are still some big names teeing it up this week.
Henrik Stenson would probably register as the biggest one of them but there are other major winners in the field such as Webb Simpson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley and Lucas Glover and they are joined by some established PGA Tour stars.
Market Leaders
Henrik Stenson leads the betting this week at 14/1 but he hasn’t really shown much in the way of form for a while so I am loathe to take him if I am honest. That said he is generally solid from tee to green and get can around any greens that he misses so he is far from a forlorn hope.
Kevin Kisner comes here off the back of the disappointment of failing to convert the 54 hole lead in the USPGA Championship last week and he is 18/1 to land this tournament off the back of that. I’m always reluctant to back players deeply involved in majors the following week as all too often they are mentally frazzled. I would certainly want a substantial price to do so and this is not it.
The American Ryder Cup trio of Webb Simpson, Bill Haas and Ryan Moore all begin the week 25/1 to win the tournament. All three look to have an ideal profile to succeed on this track and it will be interesting to see how they go with the play-offs looming large. There is no reason to oppose any of them.
Former USPGA champion Jason Dufner is the only other man who is shorter than 30/1. He is 28/1 to win a title that I’m a little surprised had eluded him so far in his career. He is another who certainly can’t be ruled out. It is 30/1 bar.
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Main Bets
I’m going with two main bets this week. I believe this week almost above all others is one to take some real value. If we look at former winners of this event there are a number of surprises on the list and I guess the many tournaments within the event play a large part in that.
My first bet is already a tournament winner this year in Kyle Stanley. Stanley was knocking on the door for an age before finally getting back in the winners circle and while he has offered little since then you would have to accept he hasn’t really played on a course that suits. He plays on one such course here so I’m expecting to see his best performance since winning the Quicken Loans National and if we get that he’ll go close.
Byeong-Hun An has only played this tournament once but his tee to green statistics that week were wonderful in a top 20 finish and there is no reason why he won’t perform well again this week because he is such a good driver of the ball. If he can putt well and chip well when needed then I believe the Korean could follow on from Kim and make it back-to-back Asian successes in this event.
Outsiders
Chris Stroud was knees deep in the USPGA last week which normally I would consider a negative but given that he won the previous week to have the mental fortitude to go again so soon after tells me he is pretty mentally strong. If he can hit the ball this week as well as he has done the previous two he is unlikely to be too far away when push comes to shove in a much weaker field than the one he competed strongly in last week.
Soren Kjeldsen sets up well for this track with his tee to green prowess. He has a big week next week but before then here is a last chance to try and make the FedEx Cup play-offs and secure a tour card for next year so I’m expecting a big run from him in this tournament. His short game and putting is much improved from a few years ago and with fairways and greens his staple diet this could be the place to deliver a huge week.
Tips
Back K.Stanley to win Wyndham Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back B-H.An to win Wyndham Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back C.Stroud to win Wyndham Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 888sport (1/4 1-6)
Back him here:
Back S.Kjeldsen to win Wyndham Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with LeoVegas (1/4 1-6)
Back him here:
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