The Rundown: 2023 Wyndham Championship
The playoff push is upon us, and the PGA TOUR's equivalent of Wild Card Weekend offers one final chance to keep the season alive for those not currently inside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings. Like Patrick Mahomes in week 17, almost every big name is taking the week off to rest ahead of the three-event playoff stretch, so this week's field is limited almost exclusively to those who could really use a good finish. Sam Burns is the only player representing the top 20 in the OWGR, but all eyes will be on Justin Thomas, who will likely need a top 20 in Greensboro to survive and advance. Here's everything you need to know to cash some tickets at the 2023 Wyndham Championship.
course notes & quotes
Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC has played host to the Wyndham Championship every year since 2007 when the tournament was rebranded from the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. A trademark Donald Ross design, the course is short even by par-70 standards at just 7,131 yards. Like other courses in this part of the country, Sedgefield is wall-to-wall Bermuda grass and features smaller-than-average greens - a staple of Ross designs.
Those greens are the main defense of the course given the lack of length. Sedgefield features perhaps the shortest front nine these pros have seen all year. The par-5 fifth is the only hole on the front over 450 yards long, resulting in a 3,427 number going out that looks a lot like your local club. The back is beefier by about 300 yards, but it does feature two, 400-yard par 4s and an easily-reachable par 5.
It's no surprise this track is a favorite of the Kevin Kisners of the world and a layout that bombers have historically left off their calendar altogether. Sedgefield is a classic second-shot course with evident landing spots off the tee that don't require 330+ yards of muscle to reach. While the rough isn't overly long, attacking these greens from the fairway is vital to keep up with the low-scoring pace. The winning score at Sedgefield has surpassed 20-under-par four of the last five years, and crazy-low rounds like Tom Kim's final-round 61 last year are not uncommon.
"Distance here is not an overriding factor... just because everybody’s hitting in the same spots off most of the tees," said Brandt Snedeker, who famously shot a first-round 59 at Sedgefield in 2018. "I think that’s why guys who wedge and putt it better tend to do a better job here."
A look at recent results backs up Sned's theory. The 2012 champion Sergio Garcia was the last longer-than-average driver of the ball to win at Sedgefield, and the top of last year's leaderboard featured a smorgasbord of Short Kings including Russell Henley, John Huh, Max McGreevy and Cameron Percy all in the top 10.
Plotter's Paradise
“Distance here is not an overriding factor... just because everybody’s hitting in the same spots off most of the tees. I think that’s why guys who wedge and putt it better tend to do a better job here.”
— 2018 Champion Brandt Snedeker
Course history
With almost two decades of course history and data, it's pretty obvious how to win at Sedgefield. Accuracy and strategy off the tee provide a chance to be aggressive on approach. Once on the dance floor, Ross's signature sloping greens provide a test, but one that can be aced with a hot putter. Here are a few notes and numbers that can shed some light on which players to back this week.
Off the Tee
The somewhat narrow fairways at Sedgefield require precision, if not distance, off the tee. Accurate drivers and leaders in total driving have typically faired well here, as most of these tee shots are about hitting a particular spot rather than seeking to gain too much ground with the first swing. Last year, only one of the top 12 finishers ranked 20th or better in driving distance for the week, while four ranked T11 or better in fairways hit.
Tee to Green
As we've already noted, Sedgefield is a true second-shot golf course where greens in regulation and proximity to the hole will be key separators between the contenders and the rest. Short iron and wedge play will be particularly important as over half of the approach shots from last year's event came from inside 175 yards. Of the 12 players to finish T10 or better last year, seven ranked inside the top 15 in SG: APP, and 9/12 finished T16 or better in greens in regulation.
Around the Green
While not unimportant, around the green play isn't critical at Sedgefield. Much like last week's venue in Minnesota, this layout requires consistent birdie opportunities for any players hoping to see their name atop the leaderboard, and that means hitting greens. Unless you're holing out every other chip, you're going to be losing ground to those with a birdie putt on every hole. This was abundantly clear last year when three of the top-10 finishers actually lost strokes ARG, including the winner Kim who lost over a third of a stroke. But he made it all back and more with his putter gaining over three strokes putting.
Betting picks & plays
Not gonna lie, I'm coming into the regular season finale about like JT, that is to say... not good. The wide-open 3M proved a little too wide open as only Grillo from my picks did anything respectable. But this week in Greensboro is another opportunity to find some value in what Vegas clearly believes is anybody's game. As of writing on Monday, only Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama are priced under +2000 on DraftKings, so the odds of a longshot cashing this week are higher than usual. As always, be sure to check out the Tour Junkies Blog for more picks and insight from the rest of the gang, including DB's Big Balls Betting Card, which always comes in hot with the long bomb plays. With that said, here are some names and numbers I like at the Wyndham Championship, and be sure to drop me a follow on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for more plays throughout the week.
Sam Burns (+2000, T10: +260)
After a swing and a HUGE miss on 110/1 Will Gordon last week (damn near DFL), I realized I may have gone a bit too long on the longshots. So among the safer plays, we're sticking with what we know to be true: the philosophy of Bermuda Burns. His record on the stuff speaks for itself. Eight of his 10 career finishes of T3 or better came at venues with Bermuda greens. After a busy start to the season, Burns has actually played surprisingly little golf as of late with just three starts since the U.S. Open in June. He hasn't shown his face near the top of too many leaderboards since his win at the Match Play (also on Bermuda) in May, but his world-class putting has been there all year. He's gained strokes putting in 17/19 starts in 2023, and while his approach game let him down across the pond over the last few weeks, I think a return to his comfort zone in the South will do him some good.
Denny McCarthy (+3500, T10: +400)
Sensing a putting theme here? I fully expect the flatstick to be make or break at Sedgefield, so who better to have on the card than Denny McCarthy? He's by no means a sleeper pick going into this week, but I still think 35/1 is too good a number to pass up. It seems like he's been the forgotten man since his near-breakthrough at the Memorial in the first week of June, but all he's done since then is post a T20 at the U.S. Open, a T7 at the Travelers and a T6 at the John Deere. He's also proven himself at Sedgefield over the years with 4/5 made cuts and three top-25s including a T9 in 2020.
Adam Schenk (+70000, T10: +700, T20: +300)
Sensing a not-so-good theme here? None of the names listed above have teed it up since Royal Liverpool, and none of them made the cut over there either. Maybe that's why we're getting such good prices... But a MC hasn't scared me off of Schenk all year, and it shouldn't scare you either. The guy has been boom or bust all year long. He's only made six cuts in 14 starts since the Players, but five of those six have been top-10 finishes. So what else can we assume after a MC in his last start other than he's due for a good one? He fits the mold of players that have had success here, gaining strokes on either approach or putting in each of his last 10 starts prior to Hoylake. If he can put the two together this week, he'll be right at the top of the board at Sedgefield.
Meet the Author:
Nate Moore
A Georgia native, proud UGA alum and former media guy for Augusta National, the only thing Nate Moore loves more than the Peach State is a Top-20 parlay. Nate is a golf-obsessed sportswriter/journalist who brings his experience in the golf industry to the Tour Junkies brand.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and commentary in this post belong to its author and do not necessarily represent the Tour Junkies as a whole.