This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Purse: $7.6M
Winner's Share: $1.368M
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: Greensboro, N.C.
Course: Sedgefield Country Club
Yardage: 7,131
Par: 70
2022 champion: Tom Kim
Tournament Preview
The Wyndham Championship has always been two tournaments in one. There's the actual tournament. And then there's the final mad dash to qualify for next week's playoffs. That second part is now a little different from past years. Well, actually a lot different.
The playoffs used to include the top-125 guys on the season-long FedEx Cup points list. This year, that number has been slashed to 70. So while in the past it was mostly fringe players left trying to get into the postseason, there are currently some very big names still on the outside looking in.
Most notably, there is Justin Thomas. The former world No. 1 had not planned on playing in this tournament, or last week's 3M Open, for that matter. But a subpar season has left him on shaky ground. So he entered both tournaments in hopes of climbing inside the top-70. Things backfired at the 3M, where he missed the cut and now finds himself further back, dropping from 75th place to 79th. Other big names making last-gasp efforts to reach the playoffs this week are Shane Lowry (76th in points), Adam Scott (81st), Gary Woodland (97th) and Billy Horschel (116th). Scott has qualified every year since the playoff format was instituted in 2007.
You'll recall that the top-125 after the Wyndham was also the cutoff point for guys to secure full playing privileges for next season. That 125 number is still a thing, but not for a few months. Golfers now have until the end of the fall season in mid-November to get into the top-125. That's when the standings will be finalized and players get -- or not get -- their Tour cards for 2024.
There are many perks that go along with getting into the postseason and then advancing each week. The big one for most of the top players is advancing from the top-70 at next week's FedEx St. Jude Championship to the top-50 the following week at the BMW Championship. Those 50 will automatically qualify for all eight designated events next season and their $20 million purses. For Thomas, Lowry and the others, if they don't get into the playoffs and into the top-50, there will still be ways to get into those designated events. After all, their fields will be 70-80 deep.
If some guys move into the top-70 at the Wyndham, other guys will have to fall out. Right now, the players inside but hardly secure are No. 66 Vincent Norrman, No. 67 J.J. Spaun, No. 68 Ben Griffin, No. 69 Cam Davis and No. 70 Austin Eckroat.
Some of the other big names in this week's 156-man Wyndham field are Sam Burns, Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Henley, Denny McCarthy, Si Woo Kim, Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia. Last year's champion, Tom Kim, cannot defend his title because of an ankle injury suffered while in England for the Open Championship.
The Wyndham is steeped in PGA Tour history, much of it centering around Sedgefield Country Club and Sam Snead. He won the inaugural Greater Greensboro Open in 1938 and went on to win seven more, the last one famously coming in 1965 at age 53. The Donald Ross design opened in 1926 and was the tournament's main host into the 1970s. It has now been back since 2008. Sedgefield is among of the shortest courses on the PGA Tour schedule.
One of its prime defenses is narrow fairways. They average only 28 yards wide at the 275-yard mark, dropping down to 26 at 300 and 23 at 325. In truth, Sedgefield offers little hindrance to today's golfers. The tournament had long been a birdie-fest, with the winning score being 21- or 22-under-par for five straight years from 2016-20. But ... in 2021, Kevin Kisner shot 15-under. And then last year, while Kim won at 20-under, he was five clear of the next guy thanks to one of the best putting weeks in recent memory, making nearly 500 feet of putts on the week. Kim shot 61 on Sunday. Incredibly, he opened the tournament on Thursday with a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 1.
Brandt Snedeker famously shot 59 in the first round in 2018 en route to his most recent Tour win. The one caveat to the birdie-fest mentality is that getting the ball in the fairway matters this week. From there, the approach shots will often be with wedge in hand in attacking the bermudagrass greens that are a bit large for such a short course (about 6,000 square feet). Ross countered that with undulations and run-offs. There are just 52 bunkers and there is water on six holes. There are only two par-5s, and they're both short at 529 and 545 yards. There are also six par-4s under 425 yards and half the course is made up of par-4s under 450.
The hardest holes are the longer ones. The back nine played more than stroke harder than the front last year, and the four hardest holes were all after the turn. In order of difficulty, they were the 505-yard 14th, the 486-yard 11th, the 507-yard 18th and the 235-yard 12th. Three of the four came very early on the back -- and the 10th also played over par.
As for the weather, temperatures will climb from the upper 70s to 90 across the four days. Showers are in the forecast the first three days, but it doesn't sound like anything substantial. Most importantly, the wind is forecast to be light all week.
Fun Wyndham fact: Sam Snead won this tournament eight times, seven more than CBS' Frank Nobilo, who won his lone PGA Tour title here in 1997, in a playoff over fellow broadcaster Brad Faxon when the tournament was known as the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. Nobilo's former Golf Channel colleague, Brandel Chamblee, was also in that field, but he missed the cut.
Key Stats to Winning at Sedgefield Country Club
The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.
• Driving Accuracy
• Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green/Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Birdie Average/Birdie or Better Percentage
• Par 4 Efficiency 400-450 yards
Past Champions
2021 - Kevin Kisner
2020 - Jim Herman
2019 - J.T. Poston
2018 - Brandt Snedeker
2017 - Henrik Stenson
2016 - Si Woo Kim
2015 - Davis Love III
2014 - Camilo Villegas
2013 - Patrick Reed
2012 - Sergio Garcia
Champion's Profile
After five straight years of winning scores of either 21- or 22-under-par, Kisner won at 15-under two years ago. Kim won last year at 20-under, though he was five clear of second place. That means in the past two years, covering 312 golfers, only one guy exceeded 15-under. So has there been a change at the Wyndham. Probably not. Honestly, it's hard to know. Here's what we do know: Kim putted like he may never again. He not only finished first in the field in SG: Putting by a wide margin, he made nearly 500 feet of putts, an incredible number. But he also did other stuff well, ranking fourth in fairways hit, 12th in approach and 16th in greens in regulation. Except for 2021, it was just a flat-out birdie-fest. Kim had 25 birdies and one eagle. Herman had 23 birdies and three eagles in 2020 en route to 21-under. The year before, Poston didn't have as many birdies as the champion normally does, but that's only because he had ZERO bogeys. That's right, zippo. He had 20 birdies and one eagle for 22-under. Snedeker, beginning with his 59, shot 21-under with 24 birdies and two eagles. Driving distance means nothing this week, but driving accuracy counts for more than most weeks. Greens in regulation numbers are always high across the board. Kim was actually low, but when you putt like he did, not much else matters. Only one other guy in the top-10 in putting last year finished with 10 shots of the lead. Instead, it was all approach and tee-to-green guys. The over/under on the winning score as posted on golfodds.com is 259.5 -- 20.5 under par. That's the same number for the third year in a row.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS
Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Russell Henley - $10,200 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +2000)
Henley has finished fifth, seventh and ninth here the past three years. With approach play so critical to success, that makes perfect sense for one of the most accurate players in the game. And with Henley putting the way he does -- currently 161st on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting -- it also makes perfect sense that he hasn't been able to close the deal any of those years.
Sam Burns - $10,000 (+2200)
At a track where 20-under-plus is usually the winning score, rostering one of the best putters in the field -- one who gets hot like few others on Tour -- is not a bad strategy. Burns is ranked eighth on Tour in SG: Putting. He played the Wyndham once before and tied for 13th in 2020. He's also the highest-ranked golfer in the field.
Adam Scott - $9,700 (+3500)
According to our model, Scott has better birdie-or-better numbers over his past 24 rounds than anyone else in the field. And in that, time, he ranks 11th in SG: Putting. Scott was runner-up here two years ago, and he's going to need a finish almost that high to move from 81st in the point standings to inside the top-70 to qualify for the playoffs.
Shane Lowry - $9,500 (+3000)
Of the big names not in playoff position right now, Lowry has the easiest path in, beginning the week at No. 76. Idle since a brutal missed cut at the Open Championship, he had run off five top-20s in his previous six starts. Lowry has played the Wyndham a handful of times through the years, with a best of T7 in 2017.
Tier 2 Values
Si Woo Kim - $9,000 (+2000)
With apologies to Webb Simpson, Kim might be the new Mr. Wyndham. He won it back in 2016, and was fifth, third and second from 2019-21. Kim withdrew from last year's tournament. Over his path 24 rounds, he ranks second in this field in driving accuracy and third in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Denny McCarthy - $8,700 (+2800)
McCarthy has been playing great at the Wyndham for years, long before playing well almost everywhere, which has been the case this season. From 2019-21, he finished 22nd, ninth and 15th. McCarthy ranks No. 1 overall in our model as the best putter in the field over his past 24 rounds and the best at par-4, 400-450 yard efficiency.
Alex Smalley - $8,100 (+3500)
Smalley has come into his own as the season has progressed. He's currently 47th in points and assured of reaching the playoffs. Like McCarthy, he was playing well at the Wyndham before getting better overall. He finished 29th here two years ago and 13th last year. Smalley is No. 10 in our model, ranked third in SG: Approach and fourth in SG: Tee-to-Green in this field over his past 24 rounds.
Adam Hadwin - $8,000 (+3500)
Hadwin has had a great season, currently sitting at 39th in points, which is close to locking up a spot in the all-important BMW Championship. His skill set mirrors the key stats needed for Sedgefield. Hadwin ranks eighth in this field in par-4 400-450 efficiency over his past 24 rounds, and those holes make up half of the course. He tied for 10th last time he played here in 2021.
Tier 3 Values
Eric Cole - $7,700 (+5500)
Cole is in the running for the Tour's Rookie of the Year, and he might be the favorite right now. He has made seven straight cuts and nine of his past 10. At 40th in the point standings, he's close to locking up a valuable spot in the BMW. Cole ranks No. 4 in our model thanks to stellar putting and birdie-or-better percentage.
Adam Schenk - $7,400 (+7000)
Schenk is coming off a missed cut at the Open Championship. But he has finished in the top-7 in four of his past seven starts. He is really dancing around the winner's circle. But beware, Schenk is not for the faint of heart -- he has missed the Wyndham cut four of the past five years. This is a different golfer this year, however, one who is ranked second in this field in SG: Approach over his past 24 rounds.
Brendon Todd - $7,400 (+4500)
Todd is a master on short par-4s, ranking third in this field over the past 24 rounds in par-4, 400-450 efficiency. He tied for 10th at the Wyndham two years ago. He is having an exceptional season, standing 42nd on the points list. Todd was runner-up last month at the John Deere. His kryptonite is longer courses, because he's so short off the tee (ranked 187th in driving distance). That won't be an issue this week.
Andrew Putnam - $7,200 (+6500)
Like Todd, Putnam is at a huge disadvantage on longer tracks, as he ranks 182nd in driving distance. He will be on far more equal footing at Sedgefield. Putnam is ranked 30th on Tour in SG: Approach for the season and 10th in SG: Putting. He tied for 27th here a year ago.
Long-Shot Values
Dylan Wu - $6,900 (+10000)
Wu has come out of almost nowhere with seven top-25s in 2023. Last week was the best of them all, a tie for fifth at the 3M Open. He's skilled across the board, ranked in the top-100 of every strokes-gained metric. Wu will need an exceptional week at the Wyndham -- likely another top-10, because he sits at 85th on the points list. Either way, this has been a breakthrough season for the 27-year-old.
Callum Tarren - $6,900 (+11000)
Tarren is coming off a tie for 13th at the 3M Open, a result that lifted him to a career-best world ranking of 145th. That's a far cry from the first part of 2023, when he missed eight straight cuts. Tarren's turnaround began around the time he tied for 29th at the PGA Championship. The Englishman tied for 27th last year in his lone Wyndham appearance.
Harry Hall - $6,600 (+15000)
Hall is here because of one club: his putter. He's ranked eighth on Tour this season n SG: Putting. He's a really short driver, which has led to poor numbers off the tee and on approach. He does his best work on shorter tracks, such as his tie for third at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Russell Knox - $6,500 (+30000)
Knox has made the cut in his past five Wyndhams, including top-25s the past two years. He's another guy who gets crushed on longer tracks with his sub-290-yard drives (ranked 179th in driving distance). The Scotsman has made six straight cuts overall going back to the Travelers, albeit without a high finish.
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