The Wyndham Championship
When: August 18-21, 2016
Where: Sedgefield CC Greensboro, NC
TV: The Golf Channel/CBS
by: Evergreen of Predictem.com
After an entertaining season of regular events, Majors and even an Olympic competition, the PGA Tour schedule is coming to an end. There is just one week remaining before the FedExCup finish. Golf is full of final chances and for some, this weeks Wyndham Championship really is a final chance to salvage a season. The former Greater Greensboro Open has been a part of the PGA Tour since the late 1930s with Sam Snead winning the event a remarkable eight times during his career. Since the introduction of the playoff system, the now Wyndham Championship marks the final tournament to earn points before we head to the Barclays. Some players are merely trying to make it in the exempt field but some, like Rickie Fowler, are here looking to improve their current standing and their chances of making it all the way to the Tour Championship. If the regular season were an individual tournament, this would be its Sunday afternoon finish.
Sedgefield Country Club has been a part of the Greensboro area event since the beginning but a rotation of courses has been used to host the tournament over the years. Sedgefield has exclusively hosted the Wyndham since 2008 and has a fan-friendly reputation on Tour as patrons and viewers are treated to plenty of birdies to finish off the regular season. The par-71 course measures 7,130 yards and while it has its tricky elements, the Tour players often find a way to score here with the winning total ranging from -14 to -21 since 2008. The course provides many tough driving holes with blind landings and players will need to favor control off the tee to avoid fairway bunkers or find the right approach angles. Those are pretty easy tasks for Tour players and those that navigate the tee trouble will have the right looks into the small, tiered greens. Those greens can be tough to hit so a good recovery game is nice to have here and putting these undulating surfaces will be a test for those caught on the wrong side of the hole.
Each week, we take a look at the online betting sites and highlight the best bets. We make some picks to win and breakdown a couple of head-to-head matches that you can find at Bovada Sportsbook. Here are our picks to win the 2016 Wyndham Championship.
Jim Furyk (22 to 1)
When we last saw Mr. Furyk, he was busy setting the PGA Tour scoring record by carding an amazing 58. Furyk is completely clear of any ill effects from his surgically repaired wrist and is playing this week to gain much needed FedEx points. He will be making just his 12th start of the season after losing the first portion to rehab but is in good shape to make a run to East Lake if he continues the strong play that produced a T2 at the U.S. Open. Control is the name of his game and enters the week 25th in fairways hit. Furyk should have no problem finding the fairway this week and he has putted well enough to turn a pedestrian birdie average into the 20th ranked scoring mark. That means he is lag putting well and making very few mistakes. He will make his birdies when he gets in range and take mostly pars on the rest of the holes so the field will have to go past him, he isnt giving any free ones away.
Brandt Snedeker (25 to 1)
Sneds started the year off with a bang by winning the Farmers back in January and he is looking to bookend the season with strong finishes. He was T5 in Canada just two starts ago and returns to the Wyndham a year after carding a 61 that got him in position to win before fading on Sunday. Snedeker has added some distance to his driver game over the years but has the ability to play under control and he comes into the week with a top-25 scoring average. He has been one of the strongest putters on Tour throughout the season and that talent with the putter also helps net the 18th best scrambling statistic. He can save par if he misses the greens and has a great chance to get it going with birdies when he is on in regulation. The field strength is medium at best and that benefits a player like Brandt who is solid across the board but not a dominant talent.
Billy Horschel (60 to 1)
Horschel has had a quiet 2016 with just three top-10 finishes but by making the weekend in 14-of-16 starts, he remains one of the most consistent performers on Tour. It is a good bet that he will be on course this weekend again and he is one of the better tee-to-green players in this field. He turns in a better scoring average than his raw birdie output should produce so you feel confident he isnt going to give too many back to the field. Billy has not scored well on the par-5s this season and that normally kills a golfers chances to have a great week but a par-70 mitigates that bad stat and Horschel is among the best par-4 performers overall. He is a good lag putter than needs a few more birdies to drop to make a meaningful run at the top but he has the right kind of approach to do well at Sedgefield and he is a proven winner.
Head-to-Head Matches
Picks to win based on predicted score for entire event. Check out 5Dimes for single round matches and a variety of prop bets.
Patrick Reed v. Rickie Fowler (pick to win: Fowler)
Two US Olympians are making the trip back to finish off the regular season and it is Fowler that has more to play for this week. Rickie made his commitment here just last week in favor of improving his FedEx standing so the motivation is in his corner. Reed is a solid player overall but Rickie has the tee-to-green advantage that should play well here and hits greens at a much higher clip than his opponent. Playing into these small targets should push that accuracy edge to a very meaningful level in this match and while Reed is one of the best at saving par, it is Fowler that has been the better scorer through the year and you need to go low here to have a good week.
Jimmy Walker v. J.B. Holmes (pick to win: Walker)
To be honest, I really dont like either player to do well this week. Both favor the power approach to taking on a course and Sedgefield isnt the best place for that. Im taking Walker as he scores better than Holmes despite averaging fewer birdies per round. Holmes having that inconsistency scares me at a shot makers course and he is the statistically weaker putter in this match as well. I think Walker has the better chance to take the foot off the pedal off the tee and manage his way around to some success and thats why he gets my pick to win this pairing.
Good luck and good golf!
