The Wyndham Championship- Preview & Picks

August 10, 2021

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Abraham Ancer win his first WGC- FedEx St Jude Invitational in a playoff against Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama. Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama began the final day nine and eight shots off the lead respectively. Going into the final round most thought Harris English or Bryson Dechambeau would win it, as they had a substantial lead over the rest of the field. However after being put on the clock early, the rushed pace seemed to effect both of them as they crumbled, opening the door for the rest of the field. Harris English had a chance to get himself in the playoffs on 18 but missed the crucial putt.

The PGA Tour heads to Greensboro, North Carolina for the final week of the regular season. It’s an all-important week for players hoping to make it into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. After this week, the Top 125 Players will advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs which begins next week at the The Northern Trust. The FedEx Cup Playoffs are a series of three events over the month of August-September. In years past some longshots have come in, so we’ll see if that trend continues here.

Some notable withdraws are: Patrick Reed (rest)

Tournament Information:

Dates: August 12, 2021- August 15, 2021
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
Course: Sedgefield Country Club
Par: 70 (4x 3’s / 12x 4’s / 2x 5’s)
Length: 7,131 yards
Format: 72 hole stroke play
Field/ Cut: 156 Players | Top 65 and Ties Make the Cut after 36 Holes
Greens: Champion Bermudagrass .125″
Fairways: Bermudagrass .425″
Purse: $6,400,000 / Winner $1.152 Million
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Stimpmeter: 12 feet
Avg. Green Size: 6,000 sq. ft.
Water Hazards: 5 (In-Play on 6 Holes)
Bunkers/ Rough: 52 bunkers/ Rough- Bermudagrass 2.5″
Stroke Average:
- 2020: 68.78 (-1.22)
- 2019: 68.18 (-1.82)

Course History:

Established in 1925, Sedgefield Country Club and the Starmount Forest Country Club each hosted two rounds of the official Wyndham Golf Championship from 1938 through 1942. However, the event was halted by the onset of World War II.

Following a hard 1960 winter, the tournament was contested at Sedgefield until 1977. After that, the Wyndham Golf Championship was held in the Forest Oaks Country Club for the next 31 years.

The Starmount Forest membership later bought the Sedgefield and in 2007, Kris Spence, a Donald Ross course restoration expert, restored Sedgefield. Even better, he lengthened and improved it to accommodate modern PGA Tour tournaments. Sedgefield is the only Donald Ross course that regularly hosts events on the PGA Tour.

Course Guide:

Sedgefield Country Club is historically one of the easiest courses on the Tour. It’s a traditional Carolina Resort course, with treelined fairways and pine straw and Bermudagrass throughout. The course is mildly tight which makes driving accuracy important but, not as important as the approach shots. The greens are slightly larger than the Donald Ross course average but, still have his traditional features. If the weather stays as predicted, and the greens play soft, it could make this tournament an even bigger birdie fest than years past.

Tournament Trends:

The past five winners have been within the Top 5 going into the Final Round
The past five winners have ranked 5th or better for Strokes Gained: Approach
The past five winners have ranked 6th or better for Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
The past four winners have ranked 20th or better for Strokes Gained: Putting
The past seven out of eight winners have ranked 10th of better for Fairway %
The past eight winners have ranked 20th or better for GIR %

Course Architect/ Comparable Courses:

Course Architect: Donald Ross- 1926

Renovation: Kris Spence- 2017

Comparable Courses:

East Lake
TPC Southwind
Detroit Golf Club
TPC Twin Cities
Sea Island (Seaside)

TV Information:

Round 1: Thursday, August 12, 2021
- Golf Channel* – 3:00 PM –6:00 PM ET

Round 2: Friday, August 13, 2021
- Golf Channel* – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Round 3: Saturday, August 14, 2021
- Golf Channel* – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS** – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Round 4: Sunday, August 15, 2021
- Golf Channel* – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS** – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Weather:

Thursday: Isolated Thunderstorms 83 F, 7 mp/h SW, 65% Humidity, 30% Chance of Rain
Friday: Partly Cloudy 83 F, 7 mp/h SW, 63% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
Saturday: Isolated Thunderstorms 81 F, 7 mp/h SW, 66% Humidity, 30% Chance of Rain
Sunday: Scattered Thunderstorms 75 F, 8 mp/h NE, 79% Humidity, 50% Chance of Rain

Key Statistics:

Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda)
Greens in Regulation
Driving Accuracy
Fairways Gained
Birdies or Better Gained
Bogey Avoidance
Par 4: 400-450 yards

Average Key Stats (previous 2 winners – WGC FexEx St. Jude Invitational):

2020: Justin Herman
- SG Off the Tee: 5th, SG Approach: 4th, SG Around the Green: 56th, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 3rd.
2019: J.T. Poston
- SG Off the Tee: 28th, SG Approach: 1st, SG Around the Green: 13th, SG Tee to Green: 1st, SG Putting: 13th.
2018: Brant Snedeker
- SG Off the Tee: 47th, SG Approach: 3rd, SG Around the Green: 5th, SG Tee to Green: 2nd, SG Putting: 19th.
2017: Henrik Stenson
- SG Off the Tee: 35th, SG Approach: 3rd, SG Around the Green: 29th, SG Tee to Green: 6th, SG Putting: 3rd.
2016: Si Woo Kim
- SG Off the Tee: 1st, SG Approach: 5th, SG Around the Green: 42nd, SG Tee to Green: 1st, SG Putting: 34th.