Out of the Rough: Wyndham Championship (2025)

After eight long months of the 2025 PGA Tour season, the final stop of the regular season is upon us with this week’s Wyndham Championship.

The event, established as the Greater Greensboro Open in 1938, has been a staple of the PGA Tour’s schedule for the better part of 87 years. 

It has been held at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina since 2008.

The Wyndham Championship serves as the cap to the 2025 PGA Tour regular season as the FedEx Cup Playoffs begins next week.

With that being said, there is plenty to play for for nearly everyone in the field.

Just 70-golfers will make the end-of-season FedEx Cup Playoffs. On top of that, those within the top 100 of the FedEx Cup Standings will secure their PGA Tour cards for next season.

Beyond all of that, there is still shuffling to happen as the BMW Championship welcomes just the top 50 of the FedEx Cup Standings and ultimately, the PGA Championship includes just the top 30.

The Field

With the FedEx Cup Playoffs kicking off next week, many will use this week to seek form, improve placements or simply play themselves into the field for next week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. 

Keegan Bradley leads the charge as the highest ranked golfer within the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) at seventh.

He’ll be joined by Hideki Matsuyama (12th,) Robert MacIntyre (14th,) Ben Griffin (17th,) Sungjae Im (28th,) Andrew Novak (31st,) Ryan Fox (32nd) and Aaron Rai (35th) are golfers ranked within the top 35 of the OWGR playing this week.

Heading into this week, Emiliano Grillo (66th,) Cam Davis (67th,) Patrick Rodgers (68th,) Byeong Hun An (69th) and Matti Schmid (70th) are currently the first five into next week’s field and will all be playing this week.

Nicolai Hojgaard (71st,) Keith Mitchell (72nd,) Chirs Kirk (73rd,) Christiaan Bezuidenhout (74th) and Gary Woodland (75th) are currently the first five out and will be looking for a big week this week to play themselves into the FedEx St. Jude Championship field.

Beau Hossler (96th,) Billy Horschel (97th,) Mark Hubbard (98th,) Max McGreevy (99th) and Isaiah Salinda (100th) are the first five within the top-100 to secure a PGA Tour Card for next season. All except Horschel (recovering from hip surgery) will be playing this week.

Joel Dahmen (101st,) Lee Hodges (102nd,) Rico Hoey (103rd,) Austin Eckroat (104th) and Jesper Svensson (105th) are currently the first five out. All five will be looking for a big week to keep their status for 2026.

Aaron Rai comes in as the defending champion, having held off Max Greyserman by two-strokes to win his maiden PGA Tour title a season ago. He’ll be back this week to defend his title.

Other former winners of this event teeing it up this week include Lucas Glover (2023,) Tom Kim (2022,) Kevin Kisner (2021,) Jim Herman (2020,) J.T. Poston (2019,) Brandt Snedeker (2007 & 2018,) Si Woo Kim (2016,) Camilo Villegas (2014) and Webb Simpson (2011.) 

The Course

Sedgefield CC plays as a par 70 at 7,131 yards, placing it below TOUR average in terms of a per-hole standpoint.

It features a standard mix of two par fives, four par threes and 12 par fours and is set as your prototypical short, positional course on the PGA TOUR.

The course is set in a way to reward those who are accurate off-the-tee and calls for a repeated dosage of wedges and mid-iron approaches.

The unique aspect of this week’s track comes with a heavy concentration of short par-fours. Eight-of-the-12 par fours measure between 400-450 yards.

This produces the fact that nearly 30-percent of all approach shots will come from 150-175 yards this week. This, of course, is well above TOUR average.

Beyond the par-fours, Sedgefield also features two very reachable par fives and two short par threes that measure under 175 yards. These four holes must be capitalized on as history has proven that any eventful winner has scored well here.

With the mention of needing accuracy off-the-tee, the fairways are funneled to set up these approach shots. It was already mentioned that nearly 30-percent of approach shots will come from 150-175 yards but additionally, the 100-150 yard range of approach shots will be equally as important this week.

The greens of this Donald Ross design are Bermuda, which takes away some of the advantage of elite putters as Bermuda is historically easier to concur than Bentgrass. Still, these greens are nuanced and undulated. 

Catching a hot flat stick will be crucial this week and unlike courses we’ve seen recently that feature Bentgrass, anyone can catch a hot putter and concur these Bermuda greens this week.

In all, just five holes at Sedgefield CC have a scoring average over par. Those holes include two 500-plus yard par fours and two 225-plus yard par threes.

The 507 yard par-four 18th hole is the most difficult hole on the entire course and has produced some eventful finishes on Sundays. Take a quick trip back to 2021 where we saw a six man playoff for example.

Course history too is repeatable here due to its need for pin-point accuracy off-the-tee and short approach shots. 

In all, Sedgefield has proven to be one of the easiest tracks on the PGA TOUR to gain strokes on approach. It is very much a point-and-shoot golf course.

Since 2016, the winning score has failed to reach -20 just once (2021.) This puts the Wyndham Championship in the ‘birdie-fest’ category. 

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, there is a 50-percent chance of precipitation on Thursday and a 40-percent chance on Friday. Saturday calls for just a five-percent chance and Sunday a 20-percent chance. Winds will begin at nine miles-per-hour on Thursday, eight miles-per-hour on Friday and 12 miles-per-hour on both Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures will be at the highest on Thursday at 86-degrees before dropping to 81-degrees on Friday, 76-degrees on Saturday and 75-degrees on Sunday.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Ball Striking

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda (SG: PUTT Bermuda)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Driving Accuracy

• Proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards

• Proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards

• Par Four Average Scoring

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Greens in Regulation Percentage (GIR%)

• Bogey Avoidance

DFS Suggestions

$10,000+

With three options in this price range, I’ll opt for the middle in Keegan Bradley ($10,300.) Bradley wants to become the first Team USA player-captain at the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer. In doing so, he wants to leave no-doubt that he belongs on that team. Now, an auto-qualifying bid at this point may be out of the picture, but another victory, or at least high placement, will all but put any doubt down that he belongs on the team. Bradley is currently 13th on Tour in par-four average scoring, 27th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 28th in SG: OTT, 33rd in SG: APP, 49th in ball striking, 55th in both proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards and birdie-or-better percentage, 56th in driving accuracy, 64th in bogey avoidance, 86th in GIR% and 139th in SG: PUTT Bermuda. Bradley most recently placed 30th at The Open Championship, 41st at the Rocket Classic, won the Travelers Championship, placed 33rd at the U.S. Open, seventh at the Memorial Tournament and eighth at the PGA Championship. He played this event a season ago, placing 22nd.

$9,000-$9,900

Leading off this price range is Robert MacIntyre ($9,600.) MacIntyre most recently placed seventh at The Open Championship, 65th at the Genesis Scottish Open, 17th at the Travelers Championship, second at the U.S. Open, 36th at the RBC Canadian Open, 20th at the Memorial Tournament and sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He missed the cut at this event a season ago and placed 65th in 2021. He is currently 17th on Tour in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 29th in SG: APP, 33rd in GIR%, 36th in SG: OTT, 38th in ball striking, 41st in par-four average scoring, 51st in driving accuracy, 57th on bogey avoidance, 64th in birdie-or-better percentage, 115th in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 161st in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards. He is also on my betting card at +3300. Also consider Akshay Bhatia ($9,000.) Bhatia went into Sunday at last week’s 3M Open with a chance to win, but a plus-four final round sunk him all the way to 25th. He also recently placed 30th at The Open Championship and 26th at the Rocket Classic. His record here is pretty awful, with four missed cuts (2024, 2023, 2021 and 2020) across the last five seasons. He is currently 12th on Tour in birdie-or-better percentage, 17th in SG: APP, 24th in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards,, 25th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 41st in par-four average scoring, 55th in driving accuracy, 60th in GIR%, 86th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 94th in ball striking, 114th in SG: OTT and 117th in bogey avoidance. 

$8,000-$8,900

Leading off this price range is last week’s winner Kurt Kitayama ($8,800.) Outside of winning last week, he also recently placed 14th at the Barracuda Championship, fifth at the John Deere Classic and 51st at the Rocket Classic. He played this event a season ago where he missed the cut. Kitayama is currently fifth on Tour in birdie-or-better percentage, tenth in par-four average scoring, 12th in SG: OTT, 31st in ball striking, 36th in SG: APP, 45th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 49th in GIR%, 59th in bogey avoidance, 91st in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 139th in driving accuracy and 143rd in SG: PUTT Bermuda. Also consider the 2023 winner of this event, Lucas Glover ($8,900.) Glover most recently placed 23rd at The Open Championship, fifth at the John Deere Classic and ninth at the U.S. Open. He missed the cut here a season ago but won in 2023, placed 54th in 2022 and missed the cut in both 2021 and 2020. Glover is currently fourth on Tour in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, tenth in driving accuracy, 21st in SG: APP, 30th in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 71st in birdie-or-better percentage, 72nd in SG: OTT, 90th in ball striking, 91st in bogey avoidance, 100th in GIR%, 102nd in par-four average scoring and 157th in SG: PUTT Bermuda. 

$7,000-$7,900

Kevin Yu ($7,600) kicks off this price range for me. He has played this event each of the past two seasons where he missed the cut. He comes into this week on the back of back-to-back missed cuts but placed 34th at the Genesis Scottish Open, 21st at the John Deere Classic, 25th at the Travelers Championship and fifth at the RBC Canadian Open. He is currently fifth on Tour in SG: OTT, seventh in ball striking, 13th in birdie-or-better percentage, 18th in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 19th in GIR%, 34th in SG: APP, 41st in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 41st in par-four average scoring, 63rd in driving accuracy, 69th in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 76th in bogey avoidance. Yu is also currently 63rd in the FedEx Cup Standings so he needs a solid week to maintain top-70 status to play next week. Also consider Emiliano Grillo ($7,500.) Grillo placed 20th at last week’s 3M Open. Prior to that he missed the cut at the Barracuda Championship, placed 40th at the ISCO Championship, lost in a play-off at the John Deere Classic, 73rd at the Rocket Classic, 19th at the U.S. Open, 24th at the RBC Canadian Open, 16th at the Charles Schwab Challenge and 20th at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. He played this event last season where he placed 59th. Grillo is currently 12th on Tour in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 16th in driving accuracy, 35th in ball striking, 40th in SG: APP, 41st in par-four average scoring, 58th in bogey avoidance, 67th in SG: OTT, 74th in GIR%, 84th in birdie-or-better percentage, 92nd in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 115th in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards. Like Yu, Grillo is just within the top-70 of the FedEx Cup Standings (66th) so he too needs a solid week to make next week’s field. Grillo is also on my betting card at +8000.

$6,900-

My favorite play this week is Ben Kohles ($6,700.) Kohles is currently third on Tour in both driving accuracy and GIR%, ninth in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 13th in par-four average scoring, 15th in bogey avoidance, 16th in ball striking, 23rd in SG: APP, 47th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 66th in SG: OTT, 93rd in birdie-or-better percentage and 117th in SG: PUTT Bermuda. He placed 20th last week at the 3M Open and prior to that placed eighth at the ISCO Championship, 44th at the John Deere Classic and 78th at the Rocket Classic. He missed the cut here a season ago and placed 54th in 2022. He is currently 151st in the FedEx Cup Standings which basically means he needs to win this week to not only have a chance of playing next week, but to secure a PGA Tour card for next season. Kohles is also on my betting card at +25000. Also consider Lee Hodges ($6,900.) Hodges is currently ninth on Tour in ball striking, tenth in bogey avoidance, 13th in par-four average scoring, 14th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 16th in GIR%, 19th in SG: APP, 45th in both driving accuracy and birdie-or-better percentage, 74th in both SG: PUTT Bermuda and proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards and 91st in SG: OTT. Hodges has missed the cut in three-straight events coming into this week but placed 21st at the John Deere Classic, 34th at the Rocket Classic, ninth at the RBC Canadian Open and 53rd at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He missed the cut here a season ago and placed 47th in 2022. Hodges is currently 102nd in the FedEx Cup Standings so he needs a big week to push himself into the top 100 to secure a PGA Tour card for next season. 

Betting Card

• Robert MacIntyre (+3300)

• Michael Thorbjornsen (+6600)

• Davis Thompson (+7000)

• Emiliano Grillo (+8000)

• Adam Svensson (+17000)

• Ben Kohles (+25000)

Michael Thorbjornsen (+6600)

As reported by Gator Sports Betting (@GatorBetting on X,) each of the past four winners of this event placed T8th or better at the Rocket Classic in the same season. Thorbjornsen fits the bill, placing fourth in Detroit. He also missed the cut last week at the 3M Open but also placed 14th at the ISCO Championship and 21st at the John Deere Classic. He played this event a season ago where he missed the cut. Thorbjornsen is currently third on Tour in ball striking, tenth in birdie-or-better percentage, 11th in GIR%, 15th in SG: OTT, 41st in par-four average scoring, 67th in driving accuracy, 83rd in bogey avoidance, 96th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 104th in SG: APP, 126th in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards and 142nd in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards. He is currently 87th in the FedEx Cup Standings and will essentially need a victory to play himself into next week’s field. 

Davis Thompson (+7000)

Thompson is currently 13th on Tour in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 21st in SG: OTT, 23rd in ball striking, 34th in birdie-or-better percentage, 42nd in proximity to the hole 100-150 yards, 53rd in GIR%, 85th in par-four average scoring, 87th in SG: APP, 110th in SG: PUTT Bermuda and 125th in bogey avoidance. Thompson has missed back-to-back cuts coming into this week but did place 18th at the John Deere Classic, 34th at the Rocket Classic and 25th at the Travelers Championship. Thompson placed 12th here last year, 22nd in 2023 and missed the cut in 2021. He is also 78th in the FedEx Cup Standings and will need a big week to find himself in next week’s field. 

Adam Svensson (+17000)

Svensson has been very good at this event over the past two seasons, placing seventh in both 2024 and 2023. He also made the cut here in 2022. He also placed 14th last week at the 3M Open. Svensson is currently 25th on Tour in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards, 26th in proximity to the hole from 100-150 yards, 27th in driving accuracy, 41st in GIR%, 44th in bogey avoidance, 45th in SG: APP, 71st in ball striking, 117th in par-four average scoring, 130th in both SG: PUTT Bermuda and SG: OTT and 154th in birdie-or-better percentage. He is currently 162nd in the FedEx Cup Standings so he’ll need a victory this week to secure his PGA Tour card for next season.