Written by Ryan Humphries | @NitroDFS on Twitter | @N1TRO on LineStar

The Player Field & Course Preview

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 2019-20 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 (see; Rory McIlroy, The Open, 2019). 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 withdrawals. 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 the last two weeks by any means, 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 70 (and ties) will move on and play the weekend.

As for the course itself, Sedgefield CC profiles as one of the easier tracks on the PGA Tour with an average winning score of roughly 19-under par throughout the past nine seasons. It is a par 70 layout that stretches a bit over 7,100 yards -- so not overly long by any means. 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. The rough isn’t overly penalizing 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. The Bermuda grass will play fast (12 on the stimpmeter) and putts can carry pretty inconsistent reads. The players who will 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 excel in bogey avoidance.

Weather ⛅

Wind is virtually a non-factor and will rarely even gust above 10 mph this week. We may see some passing scattered thunderstorms cause brief stoppages but nothing is forecasted to linger for long over the first two rounds. A wet course would likely produce even lower expected scores but there is no immediate need to prioritize either wave over the other. As always, run a final check Wednesday night just in case something notable changes. The forecast page will be linked to the image below.

Top Stats to Consider* 📊

1. Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: App) | 30%

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

3. Driving Accuracy | 20%

4. Par 4 Scoring | 15%

5. Bogey Avoidance | 10%

High-Priced Targets

Webb Simpson (DK: $11.2k, FD: $11.9k)

Cash Rating: ★★★★☆ GPP Rating: ★★★★★

To understand how much Webb loves the Wyndham Championship, all you need to know is that his daughter is named Wyndham and, yes, it actually is because of this tournament. It makes sense because a good chunk of his $34.4 million in career earnings has been cashed in here. Not only did he win the Wyndham Championship back in 2011 but he also has six total top 10 finishes, including a runner-up finish last year, and a third place result in 2017. Overall, he has missed the cut at Sedgefield just once in ten tries. That’s the same amount of missed cuts that Webb has on the PGA Tour season in 16 starts and he heads into this week with two second place finishes within his last four starts. His game is really almost tailor-made for this course. He ranks 5th in SG: App, 41st in BoB%, 30th in Driving Accuracy, 1st in Par 4 Scoring, and 2nd in Bogey Avoidance. It is no surprise why he is the most expensive golfer on the board. He has the best odds to win in the field at 9:1 and, naturally, ranks as the top overall golfer in my tournament model for the week. His price tag may be a tad too restrictive for cash game builds but definitely fire him up in GPPs.

Patrick Reed (DK: $8.7k, FD: $11.2k)

Cash Rating: ★★★☆☆ GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Reed is another past winner at Sedgefield CC, as he hoisted the trophy at the 2013 Wyndham Championship and he has made the cut here in each of his four starts with an average finish of 28th. Reed’s form wasn’t in the greatest shape just a couple months ago but since his MC at the PGA Championship he has finished no worse than T32 in six events, and he has carded three top 12 finishes in his last four. He doesn’t necessarily shine statistically, ranking 41st in SG: App, 28th in BoB%, 99th in Driving Accuracy, 20th in Par 4 Scoring, and 39th in Bogey Avoidance. The hope is that he’ll club down on some of the trickier holes in order to find a well-shaped shot in the fairway. I imagine, given his previous success at Sedgefield, that he knows what he needs to tweak in his game in order to have a strong week. I think Reed is a fine cash game play, especially on DraftKings, but my primary exposure to him will be in GPPs. He has strong 22:1 odds and ranks 7th in the player model.

Mid-Priced Targets

Lucas Glover (DK: $8.7k, FD: $10.7k)

Cash Rating: ★★★★☆ GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Oh boy, here we go. Lucas Glover just feels like one of those players that completely ejects in weeks where I put a ton of confidence (and money) on him. Here’s to hoping he holds true to his recent form after ripping off three consecutive top 20 finishes. In his last three trips to Sedgefield CC, Glover has played very solid, with finishes of T28 (2017), T22 (2016), and T18 (2015). He really comes through on the stat sheet as well, ranking 11th in SG: App, 35th in BoB%, 42nd in Driving Accuracy, 4th in Par 4 Scoring, and 3rd in Bogey Avoidance. I believe he should be a pretty safe bet to land inside the top 20 come Sunday. He has fairly solid 40:1 odds and is the 8th ranked player in my model.

Kevin Streelman (DK: $7.8k, FD: $9.3k)

Cash Rating:★★★★☆ GPP Rating: ★★★☆☆

Streelman will enter the week with some of the best form in the field after making the weekend in nine straight starts with three finishes of 6th or better during that run. He’s made the cut 5/5 times at Sedgefield including a T6 back in 2008. Streelman is an excellent tee to green player who hits a ton of fairways and has some crisp irons. Unfortunately, he’s a pretty lousy and unreliable putter so his birdie numbers suffer. But he should be pretty steady this week and, at minimum, do enough to make it to the weekend. If he gets a hot flat stick, then who knows how high up he can climb in the standings. He ranks 9th in SG: App, 64th in BoB%, 19th in Driving Accuracy, 18th in Par 4 Scoring, and 15th in Bogey Avoidance. He has 66:1 odds and checks in as my 5th ranked player.

Low-Priced Targets

Vaughn Taylor (DK: $7.4k, FD: $8.7k)

Cash Rating: ★★★★☆ GPP Rating: ★★★★☆

Taylor is the type of steady “fairways and greens” player that Sedgefield CC rewards. This is a week where his 282.9 yard average driving distance isn’t going to handicap him much, if at all. Taylor has been rolling along strongly in good form, with seven straight made cuts including a T6 (John Deere Classic) and solo-4th place finish (Travelers Championship) within his last three starts. He may not have had very high finishes in the past at Sedgefield CC, but he has made the weekend in five of seven trips. That combined with his excellent form and cheap DFS salaries has me taking plenty of shares this week. He fits the mold really well, ranking 35th in SG: App, 18th in BoB%, 17th in Driving Accuracy, 27th in Par 4 Scoring, and 12th in Bogey Avoidance. Don’t count on cashing in on his 100:1 odds but expect him to have a great shot at a top 30 result. For the price, I’ll take that, especially in cash games. He’s the 3rd rated golfer in my model this week.

Roberto Castro (DK: $6.5k, FD: $7.5k)

Cash Rating: ★★☆☆☆ GPP Rating: ★★★★★

Someone call Ray Guy, it’s time for a punt. Looking into the scrub territory, Castro seems like he’d be far from the worst guy to take a deep shot on. He has some solid history at Sedgefield, making four of six cuts including three top 30 results within his last four trips to Greensboro, NC. He also enters the week making four consecutive cuts with finishes most recently of a T26 at the John Deere Classic and a T22 at the Barbasol Championship -- obviously not the most elite fields were competing in those tournaments but this week isn’t exactly stacked either. Also, he is 12th in SG: App, 77th in BoB%, 31st in Driving Accuracy, 54th in Par 4 Scoring, and 16th in Bogey Avoidance. Rating out well in three of five key metrics for me this week is enough to catch my eye down in this price range. He’s a 200:1 long shot but checks in 19th in the player model.

Quick Hits | Others to Consider

High-Priced

- Collin Morikawa (DK: $10.4k, FD: $11.6k) | Cash & GPP | Yeah, I definitely wasn’t NOT going to mention my boy Morikawa after he landed his first career PGA Tour victory. The guy is the real deal and can definitely have his name in the mix late on Sunday.

- Brandt Snedeker (DK: $10k, FD: $11.3k) | GPP Preferred | Sneds is not far behind Webb in terms of the top course horse in the field this week. Of course he is the reigning champ here where he led wire-to-wire and many may remember the round of 59 that he carded. He also has three additional top five finishes at Sedgefield CC and is a major threat to go back-to-back and cash bettors in on his 22:1 odds.

- Viktor Hovland (DK: $9.5k, FD: $11.1k) | Cash & GPP | I try to keep it two ‘quick hit’ golfers per price point but I couldn’t go without mentioning Hovland. He’s accurate off of the tee, has pure irons, hits a load of birdies, and can absolutely win this week. The only issue being he carries a very subpar putter, but we know that any golfer can find their groove on the greens in any given week.

Mid-Priced

- Adam Hadwin (DK: $8.5k, FD: $10.3k) | Cash & GPP | Hadwin should be a strong ‘floor’ option this week with legitimate top 10 upside. Fairways, greens, birdies -- he hits ‘em all.

- Doc Redman (DK: $7.6k, FD: $8.2k) | GPP Preferred | Yet another young gun who can compete on the big stage. Landed a T20 at The Open and we’ve seen his PGA Tour upside when he landed a solo runner-up finish a few weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. I’ll give him some looks in tournaments once again.

Low-Priced

- Shawn Stefani (DK: $6.9k, FD: $8.5k) | GPP Preferred | He’s rolling along with five consecutive made cuts and has finishes of T24 (2018) and T14 (2016) at Sedgefield CC within the last three years. Strong on approach shots and Par 4s, doesn’t make a ton of bogeys. Excellent cheap GPP target.

- Nick Taylor (DK: $6.8k, FD: $8k) | Cash & GPP | Has made seven straight cuts and 21/26 on the year. Finished T8 at the Wyndham Championship last season. He doesn’t do anything in particular overly well but he’s not terrible at anything either. May not be an exciting play but he’s probably a cash safe salary-saver this week and worth a look in GPPs as well considering last season’s top 10 finish here.

We host a weekly PGA freeroll on DraftKings. Remember to join!

Here is a link for this week’s LineStar contest!

• 1st place: $10 via PayPal

• 2nd-3rd place: Your choice of one-month LineStar Premium subscription, t-shirt or mug

• ⭐ BONUS ⭐ If you place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the LineStar Freeroll and you are using the LineStar avatar below, you will receive 2x that prize!

Please Note - While you may enter the LineStar freeroll as often as you’d like, you can only win each prize 1 time.

Best of luck to you guys this week! I'll be around in chat all week so just tag me if you'd like a second opinion on a player or just have any other general PGA DFS questions!

Let us know if you enjoyed the issue with a 👍/👎!