Written by Ryan Humphries

Follow me on Twitter @Ryan_Humphries or tag me in LineStar chat @N1TRO for any questions!

Tournament & Field 🏆

The PGA Tour heads to Greensboro, North Carolina for the Wyndham Championship held at Sedgefield Country Club. What’s special about this event, you may ask? It is the final week before the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. This is the last chance for golfers who are on the bubble of the top 125 in the FEC points standings to make their final surge in order to gain admittance into next week’s inaugural playoff event (The Northern Trust) and, perhaps more importantly, retain their PGA Tour card for the 2020-21 season. This definitely adds a bit of drama to the whole week, but don’t let it factor much (if at all) into your DFS decision making if you’re thinking of chasing after golfers who NEED to have a good week. Some of these guys are not in the top 125 in the FEC standings for a reason and, also, added pressure to perform well isn’t always the best thing for a golfer. But, for entertainment’s sake, to view the current FedEx Cup standings and see who needs to have a strong week, click here.

The field will feature 156 players, barring any further withdrawals (Abraham Ancer, Lanto Griffin, and Vaughn Taylor have already withdrawn). In recent seasons, the field for this event has normally been relatively weak. It isn’t a star-studded affair like we’ve seen for most weeks since the restart, but the overall quality of the field is considerably stronger than usual as 36 of the top 100 ranked players in the world will be on site. The usual 36-hole cut rule applies so the top 65 (and ties) will move on and play the weekend.

The Course Preview ⛳

Sedgefield Country Club

Par 70 - 7,237 Yards

Greens: Bermuda

Difficulty Ranking Last Five Years: 41st, 40th, 37th, 37th, 40th

Winners Last Five Years:

2019: JT Poston (-22)

2018: Brandt Snedeker (-21)

2017: Henrik Stenson (-22)

2016: Si Woo Kim (-21)

2015: Davis Love III (-17)

As you can tell by looking at winning scores above from the last several years, Sedgefield CC profiles as one of the easier tracks on the PGA Tour. It is a Par 70 layout that stretches about 7,200 yards – so not overly long by any means. This has been one of the longer running courses and events on Tour, so course history can actually be a pretty reliable piece of research this week. The fairways are relatively narrow and there is a strong correlation between having an accurate driver and finding success landing near the top of the final Sunday leaderboard at Sedgefield CC. The rough isn’t overly penalizing, and will be cut to about 2.5” this week. But when the majority of golfers will be focusing on finding the fairways more often than not, you don’t want to be one of the guys hitting from the deep stuff all the time. The greens can often be the Sedgefield’s primary defense. They’re about average size by PGA standards (~6,000 sq/ft) and the Bermuda grass will play fairly fast (12 on the stimpmeter). Due to the greens being multi-tiered with a good amount of undulation, putts can end up carrying pretty inconsistent reads. There are 52 bunkers and five water hazards which golfers will also need to navigate around. The type of golfers who will really excel here will be the guys who are big time birdie makers, produce strong Par 4 scoring numbers, can be consistently accurate off the tee, nail their approach shots, and carry a reliable putter.

Weather ⛅

This weather section can actually be pretty simple this week. Wind shouldn’t really have a noticeable impact throughout this tournament, except for maybe Saturday -- but even then, gusts will max out around 10-15 mph. Rain could be an issue, however, as all four rounds have at least some chance of seeing some precipitation. As long as lightning isn’t an issue, golfers will probably play through some of the lighter stuff but there is at least a moderate chance we’ll see delays. Fortunately, the PGA is pretty good about revising tee times to avoid the worst of any potential storms.

Overall, there is no noticeable wave advantage to be considered for full four round DFS lineups but, as usual, run a final weather check on Wednesday night. The forecast page will be linked to the image below.

Top Stats to Consider* 📊

1. Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: App) | 25%

2. Par 4 Average (P4 AVG) | 25%

3. Birdie or Better % (BoB%) | 25%

4. Driving Accuracy | 15%

5. Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: P) | 10%

High-Priced Targets

Webb Simpson | DK: $11.2k, FD: $11.9k

Odds: 9.5/1 | Custom Model Rank: #1

Cash Rating: ★★★★★ | GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Key Stat Ranks*: 4th SG: App, 1st P4 AVG, 1st BoB%, 25th Driving Accuracy, 10th SG: P

*Key Stat Ranks are always in relation to the field for any given week.

A question you have to ask yourself this week is “am I eating the Webb Simpson chalk or not?” Simpson is almost guaranteed to be the highest owned player in the field and, if you watch the TV broadcasts this week, you’re probably going to hear several times over how Webb even named his daughter after this tournament (Wyndham) because he loves it so much. When you look at his course history, you can probably see why he has such an affinity for this course and this event. In 11 starts at Sedgefield CC, Webb has 10 made cuts with seven top 10s, five top 5s, and a win in 2011. The last three years here he has finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd. His game is virtually tailor made for this course, as you can see in his key stat rankings above. Despite the high price tag, if you can find a couple value golfers that you’re comfortable with, Webb should be a great foundation in cash games. And even though his ownership is going to be incredibly high, fading him in GPPs is a pretty scary thought.

Harris English | DK: $9.3k, FD: $10.9k

Odds: 25/1 | Custom Model Rank: #2

Cash Rating: ★★★★☆ | GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Key Stat Ranks: 22nd SG: App, 3rd P4 AVG, 45th BoB%, 62nd Driving Accuracy, 8th SG: P

If you take away a missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge (where he fell just one stroke short of the cut line), English has seven straight top 20 finishes on the PGA Tour. Most of those strong finishes were in events that had much deeper and more talented fields than the one we’ll see this week, so you have to imagine that English could legitimately push for a top five result if he maintains his strong, consistent form. He has made the cut in all six of his starts at the Wyndham Championship, highlighted by a T11 in 2018 and a T10 in 2012. I don’t have a ton of desire to back his 25/1 outright odds to win, but I’d be very shocked if English were to put up a performance that would be considered a letdown.

Mid-Priced Targets

Brendon Todd | DK: $8.9k, FD: $10.5k

Odds: 33/1 | Custom Model Rank: #6

Cash Rating: ★★★☆☆ | GPP Rating: ★★★★★

Key Stat Ranks: 75th SG: App, 5th P4 AVG, 44th BoB%, 3rd Driving Accuracy, 13th SG: P

Todd may not possess the most polished irons and isn’t the most prolific birdie maker but, as you can see from the key stats, he carries an accurate driver, excels on Par 4s, and has a reliable flat stick. Those are three crucial skill sets a golfer must have in his bag to succeed this week. Like plenty of these guys near the top of the salary ranges, we’re not used to paying these prices for a player like Todd. But his form is solid right now and many people forget that he has two wins to his name this season. Even though he hasn’t been able to hoist a trophy in recent weeks, Todd has been right in the mix to win in multiple tournaments since the restart -- he has just been having one poor round a week that has kept him away from more podiums. I do have to point out that Todd’s course history is very poor, which does scare me a bit from a cash game perspective. He has made just one cut at Sedgefield CC in five attempts. But, he’s also playing some of the best golf of his career so perhaps he’s just a guy we have to ignore course history with.

Doc Redman | DK: $7.8k, FD: $9.3k

Odds: 66/1 | Custom Model Rank: #24

Cash Rating: ★★★★☆ | GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Key Stat Ranks: 6th SG: App, 5th P4 AVG, 43rd BoB%, 14th Driving Accuracy, 78th SG: P

If it wasn’t for a couple of missed cuts at the Memorial and the 3M Open, Redman would likely be $1,000-$1,500 more expensive than he is this week. He comes in off of a strong T29 at the PGA Championship which was, obviously, a Major caliber field. And prior to those two aforementioned MCs, he reeled off three finishes of T21 or better. I will say, much of his success last week stemmed from a great week with the putter (+5.04 SG: P on the field) and he just barely finished above average on the week in tee to green play (+0.08 SG: T2G). But, in what should be an easy birdie fest, I’m alright with giving Redman some solid exposure in all formats this week considering the sort of quality golf I’ve seen him play over the last couple of months.

Low-Priced Targets

Henrik Norlander | DK: $7.3k, FD: $8.8k

Odds: 80/1 | Custom Model Rank: #5

Cash Game Rating: ★★★★★ | GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Key Stat Ranks: 25th SG: App, 23rd P4 AVG, 41st BoB%, 10th Driving Accuracy, 71st SG: P

Norlander may be one of the more mispriced guys in the field this week. Obviously, he doesn’t have the same sort of long term pedigree we’d usually see from guys in the $8k+ (DK) and $10k+ (FD) ranges, his recent form has been very strong as of late. Going back to the Rocket Mortgage Classic in the first week of July, Norlander has finished T12, T31, T6, and T23 in his last four starts. In 18 of his 22 rounds since the restart, Norlander has finished at or below par. He has only played Sedgefield CC twice, with a missed cut in 2016 but posted a T16 in 2013. Obviously, those results were years ago but his recent form heading into this event is all I’m really focusing on (alongside his very affordable prices).

Wesley Bryan | DK: $6.6k, FD: $7.9k

Odds: 150/1 | Custom Model Rank: #90

Cash Game Rating: ★★☆☆☆ | GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Key Stat Ranks: N/A

Bryan hasn’t played enough rounds on the PGA Tour this year to qualify for stat rankings, which is why he rates out so low in my player model for the week, but he’s a worthy guy to consider if you’re in need of a GPP punt. We haven’t seen Bryan compete since the Rocket Mortgage Classic five weeks ago, but in his three events this season (all came after the restart) he has finishes of T21 (RMC), T24 (Travelers), and T68 (RBC Heritage). He had to take quite a bit of time off after shoulder surgery in January of 2019, but so far it seems like he’s fully healthy and has no ill side effects from that procedure. Bryan’s irons and putter looked to be in very solid form the last time we saw him so, assuming he hasn’t developed too much rust during his recent time off, I’m on board with him this week if you’re in need of a super cheap guy that has flashed top 25 upside.

Quick Hits | Others to Consider

- Patrick Reed | DK: $10.7k, FD: $11.6k | GPP Preferred

- Paul Casey | DK: $10.3k, FD: $11.5k | Cash & GPP

- Sergio Garcia | DK: $8.5k, FD: $10.2k | GPP Preferred

- Kevin Kisner | DK: $8.3k, FD: $9.8k | Cash & GPP

- Russell Henley | DK: $7.7k, FD: $9.7k | GPP Preferred

- Charles Howell III | DK: $7.5k, FD: $9.7k | GPP Preferred

- Matthias Schwab | DK: $7.5k, FD: $9.3k | GPP Only

- Sam Burns | DK: $7.2k, FD: $8.8k | Cash & GPP

- Scott Stallings | DK: $7.1k, FD: $8.9k | Cash Preferred

- Kyle Stanley | DK: $6.8k, FD: $8.5k | Cash & GPP

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That will do it for our Wyndham Championship preview! Once again, hit me up in the LineStar chat or on Twitter @Ryan_Humphries for any questions. Good luck this week!

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