Wyndham Championship 2022 Overview
How time flies when you’re having fun and backing winners, this week is the last event before the final 125 players tee it up for the FedEx cup playoffs, and the chance to earn some incredible prize money. There will be heartache for some and jubilation for others, as those who sit on the bubble around 120th – 130th on the prize money list battle it out for the final spots.
With many players already guaranteed their place in the final 125 next week, they have chosen to take the week off and we don’t have any world Top 10 players in the field this week, but we do have some big names from the world’s top 25 such as Sungjae, Zalatoris, Hatton and Lowry to name just a few.
Sedgefield CC is a par 70 course with two par 5s, four par 3s, and 12 par 4s. In terms of distance per hole, the 7,131 yardage falls barely short of the TOUR average. The preponderance of short par 4s is what distinguishes Sedgefield CC and makes it so repeating for elite course horses. Eight par-4s range in length from 400 to 450 yards. This has resulted in an average of over 30% of approach shots from 150-175 yards, significantly above the TOUR average. Sedgefield CC is your standard short, positional PGA TOUR course. It favors accuracy over distance off the tee and necessitates a steady diet of wedges and mid-iron approaches. The winners of this event don’t scream big hitter or aggressive golfers with names like Kisner, Si Woo, Stenson and Herman all winners in recent years.
I see the prototype being the same this year and we want players onside who are in steady but not necessarily spectacular form as arriving in top nick isn’t a prerequisite to succeed.
I am expecting low scoring surpassing 20 under much last week, plenty of birdies will be required to lift the trophy aloft on Sunday. Let’s break down those all-important key skill sets required to win here at the iconic Sedgefield Country Club.
Key Skill Sets Required
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- Driving Accuracy – The majority of PGA Tour event favor length off the tee, not here at Sedgefield Country Club. Here it is more about precision from the tee box and hitting the right side of the fairways to open up scoring opportunities with iron in hand. Even the longest players in the world are somewhat forced to layup off the tee, meaning all players face similar length approach shots. Short accurate hitters have flourished here at Sedgefield County Club.
- SG Approach – 5 of the last 6 winners have ranked in the TOP 5 for approach play over the course of 4 days and I expect very much the same this week, approach play will be critical, especially with mid iron in hand which I will come onto now.
- Proximity 125-175 Yards – As touched upon, even the most powerful players on tour will have to lay up to the correct spots off the tee, thus forcing similar length second shots for all players. That distance will be 125-175 yards with circa 40% of all shots coming from this region. We want players onside who have pedigree in with mid-iron in hand as this will be the difference come Sunday.
- Par 4 Scoring 400-450 yards – In low-scoring affairs, like we can expect this week, players must dominate the Par 4 holes, especially the par 4 that are 400-450 yards in length. We have 8 of those this week. Performance on these holes will have a massive say on who lifts that trophy Sunday evening.
- Birdies or Better – We can expect a winning score lower than 20 under par this week. Players are required to make a birdie 1 in 3 holes this week. Without hitting 6/7 birdies a round, players have little chance of success come the back nine on Sunday.
- SG Putting – We are on the Bermuda green this week so we will be looking for players who have proven their liking for these surfaces as they aren’t for everyone. The greens here are undulating and fast so those with favorable putting stats will be at a huge advantage. As with all low scoring events like this one will be making the majority of putts inside of 10ft in a must.
