Wyndham Championship: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The PGA TOUR's final event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs gives players one last opportunity to crack the top 70 and qualify for next week's FedEx St Jude Championship.

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Wyndham Championship Tips

Win: Cameron Young (30/1), Max Greyserman (100/1)
Top 10: Aaron Rai (4/1), Maverick McNealy (11/2)
Top 20: Matt Kuchar (15/4), Taylor Moore (3/1)
Top 40: Justin Suh (9/4), Webb Simpson (8/5)

Sedgefield Country Club course guide

Located just 75 miles south of his home in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Donald Ross designed the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1926. Noted Ross restoration specialist Kris Spence returned the track to its original design before the PGA TOUR arrived in 2008.

Hosting for the 17th consecutive season, the Par-70 will play 7,131 yards for the fifth straight edition.

Providing targets of 6,000 square feet, on average, Champion Bermudagrass replaced the original Bentgrass greens before the 2012 tournament. The putting surfaces require a deft touch of mixing the proper speed with the right line. The winner this week will convert greens in regulation into birdies or better. Running 12 feet plus on the Stimpmeter, the putting surfaces are some of the most consistent and beloved Bermuda greens on TOUR.

The forecast of three inches of rain later in the week should result in thick, wet Bermuda rough off the fairways and surrounding the greens where closely mown areas do not feature. Sedgefield is the first tournament since Pinehurst No. 2 to feature Bermuda from tee to green.

The Par-70 provides two Par-5 chances, and neither stretches over 550 yards. The duo yielded birdies in 57 percent of the chances last season, one of the friendliest stops on TOUR.

The three meatiest Par-4 challenges reside on the inward nine. No. 11 is 486 yards, while No. 14 stretches to 504 before the final hole, the longest of the four-shotters tips at 507 yards.

The average winning score over the last eight years is 20-under-par, with seven champions posting 20-under or better. I’m looking for players who have no problem racking up GIR, holing birdie putts, and thriving in shoot-out conditions.

J.T. Poston matched the tournament scoring record with 22-under-par 258 in 2019. The North Carolina native did not record a bogey or worse for the week.

Brandt Snedeker, the only man to win the event at Forest Oaks (2007) and Sedgefield (2018) and the last man to win the event wire-to-wire, set the course record of 59 in Round 1 in 2018.

Wyndham Championship preview

Since 1938, Greensboro, North Carolina, has hosted a PGA TOUR event, and the Wyndham Championship is the seventh-oldest tournament outside of the major championships.

Moving to Sedgefield Country Club from Forest Oaks in 2008, the event recognized 16 different champions from 16 tournaments, including six major champions.

The last eight winners featured six players 37 or older to lift the trophy, and the two youngest winners, 20-year-old Tom Kim in 2022 and 21-year-old Si Woo Kim in 2016.

Nine former champions are in the field this week.

The FedExCup Playoffs have followed the event since the inception in 2007. Only three champions have played themselves into the Playoffs.

Led by 2023 winner Lucas Glover, the field consists of 156 players and features seven players from the Official World Golf Ranking top 30 and 21 players from the top 50.

After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the top 65 players and ties.

The winner will pocket $1.422 million of the $7.9 million prize pool plus 500 FedExCup points.

Top of the Board  

Sungjae Im (12/1): Justifiably the favourite this week based on his recent form and course history alone. Cashing T12 or better in eight of his last 10 events, he’s racked up seven top-10 paydays for the season. In 20 rounds at Sedgefield, the Korean has signed for red numbers a whopping 19 times and adds three more finishes inside the top 10. Unafraid to make birdies, he checks all the boxes this week.

Shane Lowry (20/1): Forecasted wind and rain provide a familiar backdrop for the 2019 Open Champion. After picking up T19 at Pinehurst No. 2, he added top-10 results at TPC River Highlands and Royal Troon to cement his place throughout the FedExCup Playoffs (No. 10). Making his seventh start at Sedgefield, his best finish of T7 in 2017, the Irishman signed for T51 and T83 the last two years.

Si Woo Kim (22/1): The 2016 winner also has finished T2, T3, and fifth on the Par-70 layout. With only one top-10 paycheck this season, the Korean has cashed in 19 of 20 events based on the strength of his ball striking.

Billy Horschel (25/1): After holding the 54-hole lead at Royal Troon and finishing in a tie for second, the Floridian tees it up for the first time since coming close to winning his first major. Last year at the Wyndham Championship, he shot 62-63 in the middle two rounds to secure a spot in the final group. Posting 72 on Sunday, he faded to solo fourth, his fourth T11 start in his last five visits.   

Cameron Young (30/1): One of a handful with Wake Forest University golf ties, the big hitter is the only player in the top choices without a victory on his resume. Making his first start at Sedgefield, his two best results of 2024 are both on Bermuda (2nd Valspar; T4 Cognizant Classic). With a win, he would become the third player in the last five years to win on debut.

Brian Harman (30/1): The second of two Claret Jug winners at the top of the board, the Georgia native has only played the weekend four times from 10 starts in Greensboro. Returning to the event for the first time since T71 in 2022, the left-hander will find the sprinkler lines and look to run his streak of made cuts to 10 in a row.

Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:

Max Greyserman: Pushed Jhonattan Vegas to the wire at the 3M Open and pushed himself into the top 70 (No. 64) after cashing a career-best solo second. The former Duke Blue Devil should have plenty of experience in this part of the world.

Webb Simpson: The all-time money leader at the event has cashed in 10 of 12 visits and is the 2011 champion. The Wake Forest alum has posted in the top 10 in six of his last seven attempts. The newly named Ryder Cup assistant should be able to make the cut and hang around on the weekend.

Maverick McNealy: A super putter, the former Stanford man returned to the States after a missed cut at The Open and picked up his best finish of the year with T3 at the 3M Open. Already safely in the top 70, he can go flag hunting again this week.

Aaron Rai: Missing the cut in a major championship will not derail the Englishman’s momentum. Ranking in the top 10 in Fairways and GIR, he will have plenty of chances to pick up his fourth top-10 payday in five starts.

Brendon Todd: One of the most accurate off the tee, he is the only player in the field this week to cash in the top 10 twice in the last three editions. Sitting just inside the bubble of the top 70 entering the week, he returns to a course he has recently handled.

Taylor Moore: Closing with 63 in 2022, he snuck into the top 25 (T22). Returning last season after winning the Valspar Championship, he added another T5.

Stephan Jaeger: After closing with 62 to cash T13 in 2022, the German returned last year and closed with 73 for T14. It’s time to put four rounds together.

Andrew Putnam: Not one of the biggest hitters, he will have no problem finding fairways and holing birdie putts. Tying for 27th the last two years, he enters the week off T19 at 3M and T21 at Barracuda.

Ben Griffin: The North Carolina native closed 64-64 on debut in 2022 but didn't play the weekend in 2023. After missing the cut in his previous two starts, home cooking should cure what ails him.

Justin Suh: Cashing T11 at Barracuda and T19 at 3M, the Californian has posted his two best results of the season in consecutive events. I’ll bite.

Matt Kuchar: Qualifying for every edition of the FedExCup Playoffs, I don’t think he will go quietly into the good night, but only a win puts him in. Lucas Glover pulled the rabbit out of the hat last year as did Jim Herman in 2020 and Davis Love III in 2015.

Alex Smalley: The former Duke man has cashed in three straight on TOUR, all trending in the right direction, and has painted the top 30 twice in three trips.