One week ago, the PGA Tour was split in two with some of the world’s best chasing gold in golf’s return to the Olympics at Rio 2016 while another group competed for the first place prize at the John Deere Classic. The focus will be tighter this week with some of the best in the world making the trip to the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina for the Wyndham Championship. It’s still a relatively week field as we’ve now had an extended absence from some of the biggest golfers in the world. We’re not going to see Jordan Spieth again, or Rory McIlroy, or Dustin Johnson or Jason Day. That means that for betting purposes, we’ll have a wide open field of players who can pop up and take this event.
Event Details
Event: Wyndham Championship
Category: PGA
Date: August 18-21
Location: Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina
The final tournament before the FedEx Cup Playoffs will keep the focus on the top 125 since players in the top 125 in the Cup standings will advance to next week’s playoffs. They’ll automatically earn their PGA Tour card for next season. This week’s event will also provide an opportunity for those looking to earn a position in the Ryder Cup with one last chance for them to make a significant impact. Although it’s not a star-studded field, it’s still an important event.
Past Five Winners
2015: Davis Love III -17
2014: Camilo Villegas -17
2013: Patrick Reed -14 (Playoff)
2012: Sergio Garcia -18
2011: Webb Simpson -18
What To Know About The Course
Driving Accuracy will be a key statistic to keep an eye on for this week’s tournament as 16th is the lowest that any winner has ranked in that category in the last eight Wyndham Championships. The No. 1 ranked player in par fours has finished first or second at this tournament in all but one tournament here since 2008. Similar to last week’s John Deere Classic, hitting the greens is a much more important category than driving the ball with power so keep that in mind when making your selections for this tournament.
The Field
The big four of Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy will all have this week off, leaving Patrick Reed as the outright betting favorite to win the Wyndham Championship at +1600 odds. Hideki Matsuyama, Jim Furyk, Brandt Snedeker and Rickie Fowler are all in the mix with odds ranking from +2000 to +2500 odds. The defending champion Davis Love III will not be in the field, but Camillo Villegas will be present with the 2014 winner listed at +20000.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Hideki Matsuyama over Jim Furyk
Matsuyama ended a rough stretch when he finished tied for fourth at the PGA Championship after four rounds in the 60’s. His stock is down somewhat after he missed the cut on the number at this event in each of the last two years but we fully expect that to change when he looks to build off a strong finish in his last outing. Meanwhile, Furyk is coming off the best round in PGA history by the numbers but we are predicting some sort of a letdown following his magic from a couple of weeks ago. Furyk should still have a strong tournament but we like Matsuyama in a head-to-head betting matchup that offers some value this week.
Top-Five Pick: Patrick Reed
The 2013 Wyndham Championship winner finished tied for 11th in the Olympics at Rio last week. While the travel could take its toll, we think that he should be just fin at a tournament where he has had some success in the past. Reed has finished in the top-15 in five straight tournaments and he should be very confident at an event where he has finished in the top-25 in each of his last two appearances. Reed is the betting favorite to win outright for a reason with his good form and past history making him a smart pick to finish in the top-five this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Wyndham Championship
Patrick Reed +1550
Rickie Fowler +1850
Hideki Matsuyama +1850
Jim Furyk +2050
Ryan Moore +2050
Brandt Snedeker +2250
Webb Simpson +2250
Jon Rahm +2250
Bill Haas +2550
Kevin Na +2850
