In recent years Wyndham has taken on the feel of a wildcard playoff tournament with a sense of urgency because players know they don't any tournaments left to punch their playoff tickets. Here are five things you need to know about the 80th edition of the Wyndham Championship.
Inside the Field
Wyndham's field of 156 players includes four FedExCup champions, and a host of players hungry for FedExCup points and a chance to crack the top 125 and make it into the playoffs. Thirty-two players have entered the Wyndham Championship outside the top 125 and gone on to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs.
Paul Casey is the highest ranked player in the FedExCup Standings (No. 8) in the field. Daniel Berger (131st) joins former FedExCup champion Bill Haas (140th), and major champions Jason Dufner (136th), Martin Kaymer (146th), Zach Johnson (150th), and and U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk (171st) as players needing points to move up and continue playing next week. Notable sponsor invitations include U.S. Amateur champion Viktor Hovland, and Korn Ferry Tour finalist Lucas Bjerregaard.
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Key Metrics
The average winning score at Wyndham this decade is just about 19-under par, and key stats in reaching this winning score have always been Greens In Regulation, Birdie or Better Percentage, Strokes Gained Putting, and Scrambling. Sedgefield is all about keeping the ball in play and making birdie putts when you have them.
Greens here are generally small and not hitting them can mean the end of the line for your season and maybe even Tour card. There are only two par-5s and a good mix of long and short par-4s, so targeting players ranked high in Par-4 Scoring is a good bet.
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Bursting the Bubble
This week is the last chance for players to earn their way in to the FedExCup Playoffs or earn full Tour exemption for the 2020 season. It's an awkward nervousness playing for your job, not to mention the courtesy cars, free dry cleaning, and gigantic paychecks. The top 125 on the FedEx Cup Points List qualify for The Northern Trust next week at Liberty National Golf Course, and will also be fully exempt on Tour next year if they aren't already.
Players just inside and just outside the top 125 will be jockeying for position all week, and being on the bubble makes for some of the greatest drama on the season. In the 12 years since the FedExCup debuted, an average of almost three players punch their playoff ticket in Greensboro.
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History of Wyndham
Wyndham is the sixth oldest event on Tour, and this year marks the 13th consecutive time it acts as the last event of the regular season. Sam Snead won this championship eight times, including the inaugural event in 1938 when he earned a first place prize of $1,200, and in 1965 when he became the oldest player to win an event on Tour at the age of 52.
The list of champions at Wyndham is a distinguished roll call of legends. In addition to Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Gary Player, and Seve Ballesteros all won in Greensboro.
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Inside the Course
Sedgefield is currently the only Donald Ross course to host a Tour event. The 7,127-yard, par-70 track dates back to 1926 with small, undulating greens as its primary defense. Hole Nos. 6 and 14 are the two most difficult holes on the course and usually provide the biggest challenge during the week. A creek crosses the fairway on the 423-yard, par-4, 6th leaving players with a tricky uphill approach shot.
The 501-yard, par-4, 14th meanwhile requires two long and accurate shots to navigate through the dogleg left and in to the large, undulating green. The finishing hole is a 507-yard, par-4 brute with a downhill shot off the tee and an uphill approach to an elevated green well-guarded by four bunkers.
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