The 56th official edition of the Wyndham Championship gets underway on Thursday, August 3 at Sedgefield Country Club, Greenboro, North Carolina. A 7,127-yard par 70 awaits a strong field, although the betting markets struggle to select a strong favourite to lift the title.
Hideki Matsuyama and Si Woo Kim are the joint favourites currently at 18/1 to take the top honours at the tournament.
Japan's Matsuyama is world ranked #31 and has eight PGA Tour titles on his resumé - his last coming in January 2022. He has one Major to his name – the 2021 Masters title but has finished in the top 40 of all four Majors this season. He has registered top 40 finishes in 12 of his last 13 tournaments – 1/2 is not a bad price for a big wager for a similar outcome.
Matsuyama is 31st on the tour in scoring average, 30th on par fours and has an excellent mid-range game that should suit the course. His putting needs work, however, he's low on the Tour in many putting metrics.
Meanwhile, Kim is former winner of the competition in 2016 and was also art of a six-way playoff for the title in 2021 – both at Sedgefield. He is currently ranked #37 in the world and last won on the PGA Tour in January at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Beware of Kim's form, however, as he has missed the cut in his last two tournaments including the Open Championship, but on the flip side of the coin he has three top-10 finishes since April. He's 12/5 to finish top 10 and 11/4 to miss the cut – one or the other could happen.
While we discuss former winners - J.T. Poston (28/1), Jim Herman (400/1), Webb Simpson (80/1), Ryyn Moore (250/1) are all scheduled to be in attendance for this event.
World #42 Poston is the most likely contender according to the markets out of the quartet. He won the tournament back in 2019 and has been in fine form in the month of July recording three top 10 finishes in four events, including a second-place finish at the 3M Open last week.
His metrics aren't eye-catching, he's 53rd on the PGA Tour in scoring average, 53rd on par 4 – on a course with 11 par four holes, and is 89th in putts per round.
Brandt Snedeker (175/1) is the only man in the field to win the tournament twice in 2007 and 2018 – although just one of those wins has come at Sedgefield. He is currently world #712 and has missed the cut in four of his last five tournaments.
On a par 70 course where putting is likely to be a decisive factor, the pick could be Denny McCarthy at 25/1. The world #32 has been exceptional on the green in 2023 – he's first on the PGA Tour in putting inside 10 feet, third in strokes gained putting and 16th in scoring average. He's also third on the tour on par 4s.
His form supports his cause with three top 10 finishes in his last five tournaments and a tied-20th placed finish at the US Open. He missed the cut at The Open Championship, but expect somewhat of a bounce back in North Carolina. 16/5 for a top 10 finish – and 6/4 for a top 20 finish – are both backable prices for the American.
