Diane Knox Balas
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Lee Hodges got his debut win on the PGA Tour, going wire-to-wire at the 3M Open and closing out with a birdie to finish seven clear at the top. Impressive stuff from the Alabama grad, who took home over $1.4 million and moves to just outside the top-30 in the FedExCup standings. Two of my picks finished within the top-10 last week – Keith Mitchell and Emiliano Grillo. It was a solid week for Mitchell, who moved up 9 spots in the rankings to 57th.
The final round coverage became a little boring when Hodges had a 4-stroke lead and was clearly dialed in, with his closest challenger, J.T. Poston, dunking his second shot in the water and making triple-bogey on the final hole. Poston missed a 5 foot putt, dropping him into a tie for second place and cost himself a staggering $260k. J.T. will be on a lot of people’s radar this week, as he’s a past champion of the Wyndham and is playing some great golf right now. More on him to come…
This is a big week; it’s the final week before the FedExCup Playoffs begin. The top-70 will advance to the playoffs, as opposed to the top-125 who have usually locked up their Tour cards at this point in the year. The guys who fall outside the top-70 have until November (the RSM Classic) to secure their place in the top-125, and full playing privileges for 2024.
However, this week, all eyes will be on the top-70 “bubble” prior to the FedEx St Jude next week. Due to this, the majority of the field are sitting outside of 70th place looking to play their way in, with some big names like Justin Thomas at 79th, and Shane Lowry at 77th. Defending champion Tom Kim won’t be playing due to an injury he sustained at The Open, however notable names include Hideki Matsuyama, Sam Burns and Adam Scott.
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Sedgefield CC: What you need to know
This course is a par 70, measuring 7,131 yards. It’s a real positional, short golf course, where distance is not really rewarded. Accuracy off the tee, however, is and past champions Kevin Kisner and Webb Simpson really demonstrate the mould for success around here.
Accuracy plus excellent putting are really key around Sedgefield, which is why J.T. Poston got his debut victory here back in 2019, going bogey-free over the four days.
With only two par-5s, which are reachable in two, you’ll see a load of short par-4s this week, and eight of them measure under 450 yards. The 18th always plays as the toughest on the course, and is a longer par-4 of over 500 yards with an elevated green. Nothing like some late-in-the-day drama when guys are fighting for their Tour cards – just like last week at TPC Twin Cities!
I want accurate players, who are great with their irons and can get hot with the putter this week, combined with guys who have a lot to play for.
Knox’s Knockout Wyndham Championship picks
Denny McCarthy (+3500 at DraftKings)
If there was ever a course that was set up for Denny’s game, this is it. And if there was ever a time he was primed to take home the silverware, this would be it, too! Eleven top-20s this season, including a runner-up finish at Memorial in June, plus two top-7 finishes in his last three starts. McCarthy is an elite putter, 1st inside 10 feet on the Tour and 3rd in strokes gained: putting, and has two top-15 finishes in this tournament. Say no more, apart from the fact 35/1 is an unbelievable price. I’m taking it right this second!
J.T. Poston (+4000 at PointsBet)
With some stellar names in the field this week, I’ve found some really inflated odds and 40/1 for Poston is great. He won here in 2019, and didn’t drop a single shot all week. He’s coming off a runner-up finish last week at the 3M Open (short memory required on the triple-bogey to end his tournament) and that gives the Postman three top-6 finishes in his last four starts. Is that any good?? J.T. plays good in waves, and this is one we have to ride.
Eric Cole (+7000 at PointsBet)
Sitting at 40th in the standings is evidence enough that Cole is going to be a strong contender on the PGA Tour, making his mark during his rookie year. He already has eight top-25 finishes, including a runner-up at the Honda, plus it’s his iron play and putting that are the strengths of his game. That’s the recipe for this week, and Cole should figure out Sedgefield pretty quickly for his tournament debut.
Kevin Yu (+12500 at PointsBet)
I’m looking at accurate hitters who can hit a lot of greens this week, and few have better stats in that department than Kevin Yu. Yu is 5th in total driving, 3rd in strokes gained: off-the-tee and 2nd in greens in reg, plus has three top-7 finishes this season including a T6 at the John Deere last month. His putting is his weakest stat, therefore he needs to perform on the greens this week, but sitting at 94th on the FedExCup standings should serve as all the motivation he needs for a superb week of golf.
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Wyndham Championship Prop Bets
Stephan Jaeger top-10 (+425 at Bet365)
Outside of the big guns, few people have had a better, more consistent run of decent finishes than the under-the-radar Stephan Jaeger. Seven top-25 finishes have put the German at 64th in the FedExCup standings, so he needs a good week to lock up his position within the top-70. Jaeger leads the Tour in total birdies, and will need plenty of them to boost up that leaderboard.
Adam Scott top-10 (+350 at Bet365)
Last year, Adam Scott had a phenomenal run in the Playoffs and played his way into each and every stage. Can he do the same this year? The Aussie is currently sitting at No.81 and finished runner-up here in ’21. Scott has excellent approach stats, and hasn’t lost strokes on the field since the Matchplay in March.
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