Wyndham Championship Preview: ‘It’s A Birdie Fest, That’s What Makes Sedgefield So Fun’

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(CBS Baltimore) — This week’s Wyndham Championship astatine Sedgefield Country Club is the past accidental PGA Tour players person to marque the FedExCup Playoffs. Only the apical 125 successful the constituent standings volition beforehand to the Northern Trust. The world’s top-ranked players are assured of a spot due to the fact that of the points they’ve earned successful tournaments this season. And immoderate volition instrumentality the week disconnected to remainder and prepare. But plentifulness of notable names are presently adjacent the cutoff line and don’t person that luxury.

The biggest sanction connected that database is Rickie Fowler, who sits astatine 130th connected the points list. Fowler has struggled this twelvemonth and slipped from 53rd to 110th successful the satellite rankings. His necktie for eighth astatine the PGA Championship is his lone top-10 decorativeness this season. He placed 22nd astatine the Wyndham successful 2016 successful his lone quality successful this event. Matt Kuchar is besides successful information of missing the playoffs. The world’s 80th-ranked golfer is 124th connected the points list. Kuchar placed 3rd astatine the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play backmost successful March, but has missed his past 4 cuts. He’s ne'er played successful the Wyndham.

“I deliberation this happens each year. There are guys wherever you look 126 and retired and think, ‘what? this feline is simply a aggregate clip PGA Tour winner, he’s a large champion, however did this happen?’ But I deliberation it’s ever specified a large reminder that is what makes this athletics truthful overmuch amusive to ticker and truthful infuriating to play,” CBS Sports on-course newsman Amanda Balionis said.

Some of the players needing much points are really ranked successful the apical 50. Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, and Justin Rose are ranked 35th, 43rd, and 48th respectively. Yet lone Scott presently makes the chopped successful presumption of points. All 3 request a coagulated showing astatine the Wyndham Championship to guarantee their play continues. Rose finished 5th astatine Sedgefield successful 2009, successful 1 of his 2 appearances there. Neither Fleetwood nor Scott person managed amended than 59th.

One subordinate who isn’t adjacent presently connected the FedEx Cup rankings is Will Zalatoris. Despite finishing 2nd astatine The Masters and holding 8 top-10 finishes to his sanction this season, the 24-year-old has 0 points successful the FedEx Cup standings. Because he’s a Special Temporary Member of the PGA Tour, he’ll request to triumph to get in, and that’s a storyline Balionis is keyed successful connected this weekend.

“He’s had an incredible, unthinkable season,” Balionis said of Zalatoris. “It’s hard to judge with however he’s enactment himself successful contention and made it look truthful easy, that helium tin truly lone marque it into the playoffs if helium wins this week. This is his past accidental to benignant of marque this play an authoritative 1 past the peculiar impermanent rank that he’s already earned.”

Aside from the players connected the bubble, the Wyndham is welcoming aggregate players from the apical 20. Louis Oosthuizen, seventh successful the world, is the highest ranked among them. Oosthuizen has 5 top-three finishes successful his past 8 events, the PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and Open Championship among them. He’ll beryllium joined by Masters victor Hideki Matsuyama, who’s ranked 17th successful the world, and Webb Simpson, who’s ranked 19th.

Oosthuizen is among Balionis’ golfers to ticker this play due to the fact that of each of those adjacent finishes.

“Not a acheronian equine but Louis Oosthuizen is due. This feline could not travel immoderate person much times, particularly this season, than helium has. I consciousness similar Louis Oosthuizen, if it doesn’t hap this week, I bash deliberation it’s going to hap successful the playoffs. He’s conscionable playing excessively bully to not spot the payout of what he’s been doing,” Balionis said.

Jason Kokrak and Brandt Snedeker were besides successful the speech of guys that could find themselves successful the premix headed into the weekend. For Simpson, he’s considered the favorite, based connected his agelong past of beardown play successful the Wyndham Championship. Dating backmost to 2009, Simpson has finished successful the apical 10 successful 8 of his 12 appearances. That includes a triumph successful 2011 and 2 2nd places and 2 3rd places implicit the past 4 years. Balionis says that his comfortableness level with the people volition ever person him among the names to ticker here.

“There’s thing to beryllium said for that ‘horses for courses’ thing. He’s ever successful contention, he’s ever successful the mix, and helium ever plays good here,” Balionis said. “He’s 1 of those guys that it doesn’t substance what signifier his crippled is in, by the clip helium comes to the Wyndham, you cognize he’s going to beryllium capable to retrieve however to play good here, and he’s going to enactment himself astatine slightest successful the apical 10 and successful contention into the weekend.”

Sedgefield Country Club has been a regular Tour halt since 2008. But its narration with nonrecreational golf, not to notation its affluent history, dates backmost overmuch further. Sedgefield formed successful 1925 and debuted arsenic a tourney people successful 1938. Famed people designer Donald Ross created it to acceptable successful with the rolling scenery of the North Carolina countryside. Alterations implicit the decades stripped distant astir of the resemblance to Ross’s archetypal design. Major renovations successful the archetypal portion of the 21st period rebuild the people for the modern subordinate portion besides restoring the archetypal Ross feel.

Sedgefield, which plays astatine a par-70 measuring 7,131 yards, remains the lone Ross-designed people successful the Tour’s regular rotation. The people places a premium connected putting the shot successful the close place, meaning keeping it connected the fairway and uncovering the close space to the green. The small, undulating greens let for absorbing pin placements. The greens thin to slope forward, with immoderate falling disconnected the edges.

The course plays arsenic overmuch into the hands of ball-strikers arsenic large hitters. Distance ever helps, if it comes with accuracy. Low scores tin beryllium had, with the past 5 champions each shooting amended than 20-under par for the tournament. Brandt Snedeker, who won the lawsuit successful 2018, acceptable the people grounds that twelvemonth with a first-round 59.

“It’s a birdie fest. That’s what makes Sedgefield truthful fun. You person to look astatine the guys who cognize however to spell low. There’s immoderate players that truly thrive disconnected the grind. Really heavy rough, hard conditions, they conscionable privation to beryllium capable to grind it retired and past against the remainder of the field. That’s not what Sedgefield is,” Balionis said. “It’s much similar a Travelers Championship oregon prime a venue wherever you’re going to person to enactment up a ton of birdies to beryllium successful contention.”

With scores that low, it’s nary astonishment that scoring opportunities are prevalent and Sedgefield. The 513-yard par 5 connected the 5th spread delivers plentifulness of birdie (and adjacent eagle) chances. Long, consecutive drivers tin scope the plateau greenish successful 2 shots. Scoring volition truly beryllium connected wherever the spread is located.

The par-4 sixth spread is among the course’s much challenging, At 427 yards, it plays downhill to a creek and uphill to an undulating green. It’s a bully illustration of the risk-reward equation that Ross worked into his courses. Most players settee for par here.

The 12th spread is the astir hard of the par-3s. A watercourse bisects this fairway arsenic well. The reachable two-tiered greenish is protected by heavy bunkers connected either side. A par is erstwhile again acceptable here, with players uncovering fewer birdies successful caller years.

Here are the favorites:

Webb Simpson (12-1)

Over the past decade, Simpson has performed the champion astatine Sedgefield of immoderate subordinate connected the PGA Tour. And it isn’t adjacent peculiarly close. He hasn’t looked astir arsenic bully implicit the past fewer months though. His past apical 10 came astatine the RBC Heritage implicit 3 months ago.

Hideki Matsuyama (14-1)

After winning The Masters, Matsuyama recovered immoderate struggles finishing extracurricular the Top 20 astatine some the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. But, successful his past 2 outings, he’s finished 4th astatine the Olympics and tied for 2nd astatine past week’s FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

Louis Oosthuizen (18-1)

MORE NEWS: Sedgefield Country Club Profile: Wyndham Championship Makes This Classic Donald Ross Course Its Home

As Balionis pointed out, Oosthuizen feels “due” for a triumph astatine this point. With 4 finishes wrong the apical 3 successful his past six events, he’s been connected the brink respective times now. Will this beryllium the week helium gets implicit the top? This week marks his archetypal quality astatine the Wyndham Championship, truthful we’ll spot if helium tin triumph successful his debut.

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