The whole spectre of golf without fans seemed to be going just fine. Until last week. Major Championship golf just doesn’t work without that pressure-cooker intensity that fans provide. Colin Morikawa proved a worthy champion however, underlining his status as golf’s premier young superstar. The tour travels to North Carolina this week for the Wyndham Championship. This is the last event leading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, presenting players with one final chance to qualify for the top 125. Sam Snead won the inaugural staging of this event in 1938. He would go on to win this event seven further times: he still holds the record for most wins of a single PGA Tour event. He also won this event at the age of 52 years, 10 months (still the record for the oldest winner on tour). Let’s see just how long the legendary Snead is able to hold on to that other joint record he owns (here’s looking at you Tiger).
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The US PGA Tour
The 102nd US PGA Championship
TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California
06th – 09th August
Sedgefield Country Club is a Donald Ross design dating back to 1926. It was the original host course of this event (though Forrest Oaks Country Club played host to the event from 1977 through 2007). Kris Spence made some major renovations prior to the 2008 return to Sedgefield, making it far more suitable to the modern player. The smaller-than-average Bermuda greens are fairly slick. Looking at winners such as Davis Love III and Si Woo Kim, this is definitely not a bombers paradise. Driving accuracy is seldom preferred over distance more than this week. Get it in the fairways and you will make birdies: Brandt Snedeker shot a 59 here in 2018.
This is a fairly strong field in the wake of last week’s first Major Championship. The ever-consistent Webb Simpson leads the markets this week. Brooks Koepka flopped in uncharacteristic fashion chasing his threepeat. He will be looking to vanquish some of those demons this week. Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey all contended at various stages last week. The three Englishman will look to fly the European flag high this week. Defending champion JT Poston comes in at 60/1 in an event that promises many frayed nerves.
Past Winners
2019: JT Poston (-22)
2018: Brandt Snedeker (-21)
2017: Henrik Stenson (-18)
2016: Si Woo Kim (-21)
2015: Davis Love III (-17)
Outright Betting (To Win)
Webb Simpson (10/1)
Brooks Koepka (11/1)
Patrick Reed (14/1)
Tommy Fleetwood (18/1)
Paul Casey (20/1)
Value Bets
Kevin Kisner
To Win (35/1), To Place (15/2)
Oh, Kevin Kisner. For some reason I always find myself drawn towards you. Kisner perhaps surprised many with his top 20 finish in San Francisco. That course was geared towards heavy-hitters, which means that Kisner’s game must be in pretty good shape. He has already shown his proficiency on a Donald Ross design this year: he finished 3rd at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. His stats make for good reading this week: he sits 35th in driving accuracy and 25th in shots gained putting. Kisner also has some history here: he finished in a tie for 10th in 2016.
Shane Lowry
To Win (40/1), To Place (17/2)
Due to the cancellation of the Open Championship, reigning Champion Golfer of the Year- Shane Lowry- will hold that moniker for two years. Lowry is one of those guys who needs a strong finish to burst into the Northern Trust: he currently sits in 131st place in the rankings. Lowry was looking great last week prior to a Friday meltdown (one complete with club snapping shenanigans). Lowry is actually in decent form, finishing in a tie for 6th at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He also has some history at Sedgefield, finishing 7th back in 2017.
The Man to Beat
Harris English
To Win (25/1), To Place (11/2)
Harris English is quite simply one of the most consistent golfers in the world right now. Last week’s top 20 finish in San Francisco was his 7th top 20 in his last eight starts. This all centres around pure ball-striking and some of the best putting stats on the PGA Tour. He has made six cuts out of six here. That included an 11th place finish in 2018, when he was on the outskirts of playoff contention. This event is a low-scoring Bermuda layout, which should suit him perfectly. English also shot a meaningless 65 at Sawgrass earlier this year. There are many examples of strong correlations between Sawgrass and Sedgefield.
