The Wyndam Championship
Thursday Aug. 20 Sunday Aug. 23, 2009
Sedgefield Country Club Greensboro, N.C.
The Golf Channel/CBS
by Matt of Predictem.com
Last weeks PGA Championship was dubbed Glorys Last Chance and this weeks Wyndam Championship is another last chance for the pros. The 2009 Wyndam Championship is the last event prior to the start of the FedExCup Playoff and players outside the top-125 in the FedEx standing will need to have a good showing to make week one of the four week series. Some are already in the top-125, but will look to cement a better spot as week two of the playoff schedule invites only the top-100 golfers to the Deutsche Bank. Players currently outside the top-125 include Stuart Appleby, Rocco Mediate, David Duval and defending Wyndam champ, Carl Pettersson.
The guys that are fighting to get in will not have to worry about the big dogs on Tour this week as the majority of the players locked into playoff position will skip the Wyndam to rest up for the stretch run. Sergio Garcia highlights the field in terms of name recognition, but the title is certainly up for grabs to a large portion of the field.
Sedgefield Country Club will host a PGA Tour event for the ninth time and the 7,117 yard, par-70 track will give up plenty of birdies to send the regular season out in style. Pettersson carded a course record 61 on the way to victory at 21-under last year and several players should be in the sixties in all four rounds.
Each week we take a look at the online golf bookies and breakdown a few players that we like to win the event. Well give you a short, middle and long odds pick and highlight a few head to head matches as well. Here are our picks for the 2009 Wyndam Championship.
Short Favorite: Lucas Glover (20 to 1)
Garcia will probably be the short odds favorite at most sportsbooks, but Glover looks to be the smarter money this week. The U.S. Open champ has gone T19 and solo 5th in the last two weeks and has a 2nd and 3rd to add to his Major win in 2009. Lucas is 1st on Tour in overall driving including 43rd in fairways and his 61st rank in greens hit is only about a single percentage point off of the top-20. Glover has a solid putter, ranking 23rd in overall average and converting enough putts to rank 5th in birdie average and 7th in scoring.
Middle of the Road: John Senden (30 to 1)
Senden has been hit and miss over the last few weeks, sandwiching a T2 at the Buick in between missed cuts. Still, hes a good pick this week based on his Tour-leading GIR% and 21st rank in overall driving. Those numbers have John as the 6th ranked ballstriker on Tour and only his 122nd rank with the putter keeps his 17th best scoring average from dropping into the top-10. If the putts fall early, look for a lot Senden on the first page this week.
Longshot: Steve Marino (50 to 1)
Marino is on a bit of a cold streak since his runner-up at the Crowne Plaza with only one top-25 finish since and a MC at the PGA Championship. This could be the bounce-back week as Steve still ranks 33rd in overall driving, including 38th in distance and his 20th rank in greens hit will be among the best in the field. Marino can handle the shootout events with the 14th best scoring average and 10th most total birdies in 2009 play.
Head to Head Matches (our pick)*all matches are for entire tournament. Check with your favorite book for single round matches, updated daily.
K.J. Choi (-115) v. Justin Rose (-115) (Choi)
Wow, neither player has really showed up in 2009 with only one top-10 between them and almost no relevant stats inside the top-100 on either stat sheet. The big reason to like Choi here is his 2005 Wyndam win and his large advantage in greens hit. Dont expect much from these two overall this week, but K.J. should be able to come out on top in the match.
Davis Love III (-115) v. Brandt Snedeker (-115) (Love III)
Love isnt the player he was a decade ago, but Snedeker isnt the player he was just two years ago when he won the Wyndam. Picking against former champs can be risky, but you cant ignore the huge edge possessed by Love in greens hit, total driving, ballstriking and the all around stat, not to mention a scoring average that is ranked 50 places better as well.
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Good Luck!
