This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Wyndham Championship
Greensboro, North Carolina
Sedgefield Country Club - Par 70 - 7,131 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $7.6M
The Preview
Like any other tournament, a champion will be crowned at the conclusion of the regular season finale, but those who land among the top 70 in the FedExCup standings come Sunday night are also rewarded with a trip to the FedEx St. Jude Championship. This certainly helps create suspense while a fairly weak contingent of 156 entrants tees it up in Greensboro, as many top names save their energy for a playoff run.
Sedgefield Country Club has hosted the event since 2008, but its undulating and fast bermuda greens have only been in play for the past 11 editions after bentgrass failed to live up to Tour standards in the Carolina summer heat. These putting surfaces are relatively easy to hit from the fairway as GIR percentages inflate, but three-putt rates also climb as proximity is more important when targeting the correct tier or bowl on these dance floors.
The Donald Ross design features two reachable par-5s that lend plenty of eagle opportunities, while eight par-4s measure between 400-450 yards. Driving accuracy is key on this shorter layout, and there are several chances to take less than driver off the tee in order to secure preferable angles, thus creating a healthy amount of approach shots from the 150-200 yard range. It's therefore not entirely a wedge fest with an average of just 16.6 percent of approaches historically hit from 125 yards and in at Sedgefield, but birdies will still come in bunches. All but one of the last seven winners reached the 20-under-par mark.
Recent Champions
2022 - Tom Kim
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
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Par-4: 400-450 efficiency
SG: Putting (bermuda)
Proximity: 125-200 yards
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Hideki Matsuyama - $40
It's a sad state of affairs at the top of the board this week with names like Sungjae Im and Justin Thomas playing some very uninspiring golf as of late, but Matsuyama at least ranks No. 1 in Opportunities Gained, third in Prox: 175-200 yards and fourth in SG: Approach over his last 24 measured rounds. The flat stick once again let him down en route to a T30 at the 3M Open this past week, but he managed to finish fifth in SG: Tee-to-Green while racking up 19 total birdies in Minnesota. Matsuyama's erratic track record at Sedgefield CC includes four missed cuts in seven appearances, though he also owns a trio of top-15 results, notably tying for third here in 2016 when he finished top-5 in both GIR and FIR percentage.
Denny McCarthy - $39
As arguably the best putter on the planet, McCarthy unsurprisingly has gained strokes on the greens in all five of his visits to Sedgefield, which guided him to finishes of T36-T22-T9-T15 before a missed cut in Greensboro last year when he lost 3.6 strokes off the tee across just two rounds. Currently sitting a comfortable 25th in the FedExCup Standings, he's second to none in SG: Putting and P4: 400-450 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds. It feels like an opportune spot for McCarthy to pick up his maiden PGA Tour victory if it's going to come anytime soon.
Russell Henley - $37
Pacing the field in SG: APP and Prox: 125-150 over his last 24 rounds, Henley figures to be a popular selection at a slightly discounted price compared to the market rate on him this week. Despite a missed cut in his most recent outing at The Open Championship, the fact that he's rattled off three consecutive top-10s here at the Wyndham since 2020 boosts his projected ownership as well. Additionally, Henley's 72.37 driving accuracy percentage leads the Tour this season.
Glue Guys
Eric Cole - $33
An affordable Cole remains an especially easy click in cash-game formats with nine made cuts in his last 10 starts dating back to the AT&T Byron Nelson, and he's coming off a T30 at the 3M Open where he gained 4.4 strokes on the greens while stringing together four under-par rounds. He's second to only the aforementioned McCarthy in SG: Putting over their last 24 rounds, but Cole ranks third in Birdies or Better Gained and ninth in P5: 500-550 Efficiency during this stretch as well. A solid week in North Carolina could cement him as the front runner for Rookie of the Year honors.
Stephan Jaeger - $32
Jaeger just played his final 18 holes at TPC Twin Cities in bogey-free fashion, ultimately finishing fourth among his peers in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: T2G at the 3M Open. The 34-year-old German now sits top-15 in P4: 400-450 Efficiency and Opportunities Gained over his last 24 rounds. Jaeger's Sedgefield CC course history is highlighted by gaining the fifth most strokes on approach at the 2022 Wyndham Championship, when a final-round 62 elevated him to a top-15 result.
Aaron Rai - $30
I definitely had to look within and question if my model was broken when Rai appeared in the No. 1 slot, but the Englishman has notched five top-25s across seven starts dating to the Charles Schwab Challenge, so it might not be too far fetched. Over his last 24 measured rounds, Rai ranks first in driving accuracy, second in Prox: 150-175, second in P4: 400-450 Efficiency, third in P5: 500-550 Efficiency, seventh in SG: Approach and 10th in Birdies or Better. Another noteworthy element is his positive turnaround with the putter since a missed cut at the Memorial Tournament.
Bargain Bin
Vincent Norrman - $26
Norrman followed his win at the Barbasol Championship with a top-25 effort at the Barracuda Championship before making another cut last week at the 3M Open, where he ranked second in SG: OTT and sixth in SG: APP on the way to an impressive 81.94 GIR percentage. Despite losing a season-worst 5.9 strokes with the flat stick in Minnesota, Norrman is still fourth in putting from 5-10 feet over his last 24 rounds.
Kevin Streelman - $25
Streelman, who played his college golf down the road at Duke, tied for seventh here in Greensboro at the 2021 Wyndham Championship when he gained a collective 6.7 strokes with his ball striking. He just picked up a season-high 8.9 strokes on the field from tee to green at the 3M Open en route to a T2 finish, and over his past 24 rounds, the 44-year-old is 12th in SG: Approach.
Doug Ghim - $24
Rebounding from an opening 74 at the 3M Open with an eight-under 63 in Round 2, Ghim saved his backers with 19 total birdies after originally looking like he wouldn't even make it to the weekend. Ghim ultimately led the entire event in GIR percentage as he hit 61 of 72 greens in regulation, while also gaining 3.6 strokes off the tee. He's now placed 33rd or better in seven of eight starts dating to the Wells Fargo Championship, ascending to fourth in P4: 400-450, sixth in driving accuracy and ninth in Prox: 150-175 yards over his last 24 rounds. Ghim's lineup exposure hopefully is limited by three straight missed cuts at Sedgefield, though he tied for 20th during his Wyndham debut here in 2018.
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