Wyndham Championship 2023 – Event Overview
The players head to Sedgefield CC this week for the Wyndham Championship 2023. As the summer sun warms the greens, the anticipation for the 2023 Wyndham Classic reaches a fever pitch. This prestigious golf tournament, held annually at the historic Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a spectacle that never fails to captivate golf enthusiasts worldwide.
The course, a masterpiece originally designed by Donald Ross, has been the battleground for some of the most thrilling moments in golf history. Its meticulously manicured fairways and challenging greens have tested the mettle of the world’s finest golfers since 1938, making it the seventh-oldest event on the PGA TOUR.
Sedgefield CC is a par 70 course with two par 5s, four par 3s, and 12 par 4s. Regarding 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 favours 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.
As we look forward to the 2023 edition, a fresh set of challengers is ready to make their mark. The field is brimming with talent, each player bringing a unique blend of skill, determination, and passion to the course will we have a breakout winner like we did with Tom Kim in 2022.
Among the key players to watch is Lee Hodges, fresh off his wire-to-wire victory at the 3M Open. His impressive performance there has set the stage for a potentially stellar showing at the Wyndham Classic. Another notable contender is Cam Davis, who has been making waves with his impressive finishes, he is one I will come onto later.
I expect 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.
Wyndham Championship 2023 – Event & Course Details
| Course: | Sedgefield Country Club |
| Location: | Greensboro, NC |
| Date: | Aug 3-6, 2023 |
| Par: | 70 |
| Yardage: | 7,131 |
| Purse: | —- |
| Fairways/Rough: | Bermudagrass |
| Greens: | Champion Bermudagrass |
| Defending Champion: | Tom Kim 2022 |
Key Skill Sets Required
01. Driving Accuracy
The majority of PGA Tour event favour 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 the 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.
02. SG Approach
5 of the last 7 winners have ranked in the TOP 5 for approach play over the course of 4 days, and the other 2 ranked 12th in the last 7 years. 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.
03. 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 50% of all shots coming from this region. We want players onside who have pedigree with mid-iron in hand as this will be the difference come Sunday.
04. 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.
05. 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.
06. SG Putting
We are on the Bermuda greens 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, making the majority of putts inside of 10ft is a must.
Best Outsider to consider
01. Doug Ghim 90/1
- His best chances come in low-scoring affairs like this week, where approach play is key and attacking golf is required.
- A super driver of the ball. Ranked 2 for good drives over the past 24 rounds on tour, he is also in the top 10 players for accuracy of the tee.
- Ranked 1st in GIR gained last week showing he is striping his irons.
- Ranks 11th for SG Approach play over the past 24 rounds.
- Digging a little deeper he also excels from125-175yards where he ranks amongst the best 20% teeing it up this week.
- The former mature world number 1 has lots in his favour this week.
02. Aaron Rai 50/1
- A technical course should suit his style of play.
- He is super accurate of the tee which is advantageous here at Sedgefield GC.
- Iron game is dialled in right now, hitting a high percentage of GIR, which will be a key factor this week.
- Gained strokes with T2G in 16 of his last 17 events.
- Gaining strokes putting in 6 of his last 7 events.
Top 20 picks this week
- Doug Ghim
- Ada Hadwin
- Alex Smalley
Wyndham Championship 2023 – Best Outright Picks
01. Alex Smalley 66/1
- 2 top 10 finishes in his last 4 events.
- 13th here last year showing his liking for the layout.
- Ranked 3rd in approach play of all players teeing it up over the past 36 rounds on tour.
- Ranked in the top 10 for proximity to the hole from 100- 125 yards and 125-150 yards, his overall iron game is top class and this is backed up by the stats.
- Ranked top 20 for Par 4 scoring from 400-450 yards, eight holes each day fall in this range.
- His weakness is putting for sure, however, these green surfaces are one that he has had success with previously, he has gained strokes putting in 4 of his last 5 events.
- Trending in the right direction I expect a huge performance.
02. Cam Davis 40/1
- 2 top-25 finishes at this event some years back, he is a much more accomplished golfer now with a PGA tour win to his name.
- He has form on easy-scoring tracks, he excels in low-scoring events.
- 2 top 20 finishes in his last 3 events.
- His proximity stats rank in the top 20% of the field from all key distances – 100-125yards – 125-150yards and 150-175yards.
- He has gained strokes off the tee in 15 of his last 17 events, and combined with his superb iron play he has a serious chance this week.
- His best-putting stats come on the Bermuda greens he faces this week.
