And just like that, we are approaching the end of the 2024 PGA Tour Season. The Wyndham Championship has the honor of being the last-ditch effort to get enough FedEx Cup points for playoff qualification. Only 70 of the PGA’s best will head to Memphis next week for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, so there will be so much more at stake at Sedgefield than just bragging rights. Golfers’ futures will be determined by their play this week. Big names like Keith Mitchell, Lucas Glover, Kurt Kitayama, and Nicolai Hojgaard all currently sit outside the Top 70.
With all the pressure on, there isn’t a better spot than Sedgefield Country Club. The short Par 70 course is winnable by all types of golfers, unlike a few of the recent courses that required distance to compete. Sedgefield rewards the most accurate drivers and best approach play, so only the best golfers will win enough points to move into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Let’s take a closer look at Sedgefield, its very repetitive history, and a few golfers that can contend for the victory.
The Course: Sedgefield Country Club
The list of former champions will tell you exactly what type of golfers will find success here at Sedgefield Country Club. That list includes Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner, JT Poston, Si Woo Kim, and Webb Simpson. When you look at these golfers’ strokes gained charts, very similar graphs will appear. All of these guys have shown their success mainly relying on accuracy off the tee, but are also consistent with the shorter irons and putter to round out a solid game. This is not saying guys that hit it further won’t find success, but history suggests a positional game off the tee is rather important. There are a few holes that players will opt for shorter clubs off the tee, as they will be forced with numerous layups to avoid narrow, tree-lined angles into the green.
As expected with a course that rewards a specific type of player, course history has proved to be a very strong metric for success here. Prior to his WD in 2022, Webb Simpson had secured 5 consecutive Top 7 finishes, including 2 runner-up finishes. He then tacked on another T5 last year. Si Woo Kim has an eerily similar history, as prior to his WD in 2022, he had 3 consecutive Top 5 finishes. Sungjae Im has been ranked amongst the best players in the world in all major facets other than distance. In his 4 appearances at Sedgefield, he has 3 Top 10 finishes, with his best being the runner-up finish to Tom Kim in 2022. Shorter hitter Russell Henley has also tallied up 4 consecutive Top 10 finishes.
Best Bets: Wyndham Championship
Billy Horschel (+2500)
Billy Horschel fits Sedgefield perfectly. The only major aspect of the game he’s below Tour average is Driving Distance, and just barely. He’s very accurate off the tee, has been insanely hot with his irons, and his short game can’t be any better.
His course history is also up there with anyone not named Webb Simpson. In his last 5 times at The Wyndham Championship, Billy Horschel has finished 4th, T27, 2nd, 6th, and 11th. He’s obviously taken to this course very well and is playing some fantastic golf as of late. He obviously had his best finish in a major with his runner-up finish at Royal Troon, but he has been playing well before that too. He won back in April and finished T8 at Valhalla. Now is the time to get back on the Billy Horschel train!
I was hoping for a better number than 25-1, but I think it’s a very fair price considering he’s one of the best in this field, has fanatic history, and is coming in with great form. I wouldn’t blame you if you waited to see a better number after Thursday, but I wouldn’t wait long. In 2 of the past 3 tournaments, Horschel has had a share of the lead heading into the weekend. You can expect a similar result this time around!
Webb Simpson (+7000, Top 10 +550)
I said Billy Horschel had the best course history other than Webb Simpson for a reason. Webb Simpson may have the best course history out of anyone in the entire sport on any course, and it’s right here at Sedgefield Country Club. How good you ask? Good enough to name his daughter WYNDHAM.
If you take his 2022 WD out, Webb has 6 consecutive T7 finishes or better, including a four-year stretch from 2017 to 2020 where he didn’t leave the podium. His only win came in 2011, but has 10 total Top 10 finishes in his 15 times playing this event. Regardless of his form at any moment, Webb always plays well here. He has not been the same golfer the past 3 years, and yet he still finds a way to grab a T5 and T7. His current form is nothing to brag about, but again this does not worry me in the slightest. I’ll be betting on Webb Simpson in this event until he’s 60.
It will still take a great week to win with this field, but considering his history, 70-1 is a fantastic number. You can feel EXTREMELY confident with the +550 odds for his Top 10 finish. This seems like an absolute no-brainer, auto bet. You can take this out straight to the bank.
Andrew Putnam (+10000, Top 10 +750)
Like I said, I’m targeting a very specific type of golfer. Andrew Putnam does not deviate from this. In fact, he’s a bit more extreme. Statistically, he’s better than Billy Horschel in Accuracy, Approach, and Around the Green play, and he’s also a very good putter. Just like Simpson and Horschel, Putnam struggles with distance, but much more than them.
Andrew Putnam hits the ball 20 yards shorter than the average Tour player. If he is ever going to win on the PGA Tour, it can only come at maybe 15 of the courses on rotation. His lack of distance takes him out of contention on most tracks, but not here. His back-to-back finishes of T27 at Sedgefield show his capability of playing well here. He comes into The Wyndham having lost strokes Off the Tee in 18 consecutive events because of his shorter hitting. However, over the past three years at Sedgefield, Putnam has been in the green for this category. This shows the openness for all kinds of golfers here, and how it takes Putnam’s greatest hindrance out of play.
While I don’t necessarily think Putnam will win, his Top 10 odds are very enticing. He comes in with two straight events gaining over 6 strokes Approaching the Green, and his course fit speaks for itself. It feels like the stars may be aligning for Andrew Putnam, and I would hate to miss out on a great number like this one!