PGA tour - Wyndham Championship Aug 16th –19th 2012

[The rabbit]

It's back to normal on the PGA tour with the Wyndham Championship taking place in North Carolina at the Sedgefield Country club golf course which has hosted this event in the last four years. It is the final tournament on the PGA tour regular season before the FedexCup playoffs begin next week in New York.

The course is a par 70 over 7130 yards with two par 5's and is quite easy so low scores can be expected unless the weather makes things difficult which it is not predicted to do.

Carl Pettersson won this in 2008 with - 21 and Ryan Moore ( playing this week ) won it in 2009 with - 16 after a play off. Arjun Atwal shot - 20 to win in 2010 and last year Webb Simpson won with - 18 and he is here to defend his title and he or Jason Dufner will probably start as favourite. This event was ranked 39th (out of 51 courses) in difficulty on the PGA TOUR in 2011 so it is not hard and the emphasis will be on putting well on the undulating greens.

Selections etc to follow.

Good luck everybody

Pete

[robert611]

This week im backing Bryce Molder 150/1 PaddyPower Eachway .. Molder has been out of form of late hense the 3 figure odds .Molder is one of the best putters on tour ...last played here in 2009 and finnished 17th so some course form .. got his first pga tour win at last years frys open .. but seems to have stalled a bit sinse has missed some golf with injuries but if he can start to recapture some of his early year and last years form hes very overpriced.. good luck ya all whos having a wager on this

[The rabbit]

Yes the 150/1 about Bryce Molder will look excellent value if he can find his best form again.

I like the chances of about 12 players in this

Will edit with more reasoning when I have time but going with five -

Brandt Snedeker ( 33/1 ) who is a good putter and was recently jt 3rd in Open. Finished jt 5th here in 2009 and jt 8th in 2010.

Ryan Moore ( 50/1 ) won this in 2009 which is his only PGA victory and was jt 8th recently on another easy course at John Deere Classic.

Chris Kirk ( 66/1 ) likes easy courses and has found a bit of form lately.

Charlie Wi ( 100/1 ) is best on short par 70 courses in my opinion and was jt 3rd at Greenbrier Classic recently.

Y E Yang ( 100/1 ) has ben putting well this season and could win if he can get better from tee to green. Capable of playing very good golf but has yet to hit form this season.

Also having small bets on John Huh ( 100/1 ) who looks due another good performance and is a winner on this tour in 2012 and Jonas Blixt ( 150/1 ) who is returning from injury but played quite well earlier this season.

Good luck everybody

Pete

[Micko70]

Bloody Hell Pete your quick with this, haven't even had time to count my winnings from McIlroy and your sorting out next weeks.

Looks a lot tougher this week but with massive European Ryder Cup points up for grabs (If many Europeans are taking part) it could be important

[drobgod]

As much as I'd love to be proven wrong having backed him to win the Money List at 200/1 I think Jason Dufner is a poor favourite this week.

For one this looks like a putting course which is the weakest part of Dufner's game and his last three visits here have yielded finishes of MC, 34th and MC, hardly what you want from a favourite.

I'll be posting my fancies later and hoping for better than last week, much better in fact!!

[The rabbit]

I always like to study the golf form early Micko whilst it is fresh in my mind after taking a lot of notice of it over the weekend.

I have just read on the PGA website that the greens on this course have recently been altered to Bermuda from Bentgrass which should make them a bit faster but I think that this will still be quite a low scoring event.

As previously mentioned I am going with these five

Brandt Snedeker ( 33/1 ) has won three times on the PGA tour including once this season which was at the Farmers Insurance Open in January. He is one of the best putters on this tour and knows how to make plenty of birdies and this week's course is quite an easy one and the emphasis will be on putting and making birdies. He has some reasonable course form here with a jt 5th place in 2009 and a jt 8th in 2010. He missed the cut last week in the PGA Championship but this week's shorter venue will suit him much more and his jt 3rd at the Open Championship about a month ago was a very good performance.

Ryan Moore ( 50/1 ) has only won once on the PGA tour and it was at this course in 2009 so he has shown that he can play good golf here. He did not win last season but produced some good performances including a jt 4th at the Northern Trust and a jt 2nd at this tournament. His results in the FedexCup plays offs were respectable with a jt 10th at the Deutsche Bank and a jt 16th at the BMW. He suffered an injury at the end of last season but seems to have fully recovered from it now. He played well a few weeks ago with three top 10 finishes in four consecutive tournaments with his best effort being a jt 4th at the Arnold Palmer. He has not done so well in the events he has played in since apart from at the John Deere Classic where he was jt 8th and putted quite well.

Chris Kirk ( 66/1 ) played on the Nationwide tour in 2010 and his second place in the money list with two victories meant that he qualified for the PGA tour in 2011. Last year his three best performances were on easy courses with a score of - 23 ( 5 day tournament ) in the Bob Hope Classic, a score of - 17 at the Shell Houston when he finished jt 2nd to Phil Mickelson and his maiden PGA win at the Viking Classic when he won with - 22. Therefore he has often played his best golf on easy courses with low scoring and this tournament is usually a low scoring one and takes place on one of the easier courses on the PGA tour. His first top 10 this season was in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions tournament when he came jt 7th and another good effort was a jt 5th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He has started to show signs of a return to form in recent tournaments with a jt 10th at the True South Classic and a jt 4th at the Canadian Open and he could do well this week at decent odds.

Charlie Wi ( 100/1 ) is a player who I always consider to be at his best on this type of short par 70 course and his best recent performance was a jt 3rd at the the Greenbrier Classic which is a par 70 course that is only slightly longer than the one being played on this week. He has yet to win on the PGA tour but has finished 2nd on five occasions with the most recent being at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am earlier this year. He was jt 4th at the Valero Texas Open in April so he has managed three top 5 finishes so far this season. His inaccuracy may not be punished so much on this course as it is on some others and he can putt well and he could do well at odds which look generous in my opinion. .

I have backed Y E Yang ( 100/1 ) about four three times so far this year without any success and have decided to give him another chance this week. He is capable of playing very good golf as he showed when winning a Major ( PGA Championship ) in 2009 and in 2010 when he won tournaments in China and in South Korea. He also played very well in the U S Open last season.when jt 3rd. Other good performances in 2011 were a 2nd at the Honda Classic and a jt 6th at the Barclays.
He has not found his best form yet in 2012 but he has been putting well ( 8th in total putting stats ) so far this season. His latest three events have been tough ones ( British Open, WGC and PGA Major Championship ) but the one before the Open was the John Deere Classic when he was ranked first in the putting stats and the emphasis will be on putting this week so he could do better in this tournament which is not particularly strong by PGA standards. He needs to be more accurate from tee to green and if he is then he has a reasonable chance and will be motivated to do well as he has to get in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings in order to compete in the play offs which start soon in New York.

Best of luck

Pete

[drobgod]

Not an easy tournament this week so I'm going to just play small stakes on a couple of big priced outsiders in the hope of striking gold.

Daniel Summerhays – Turned pro in 2007 and competed on the main Tour for the first time in 2011 where he achieved very little. This season things have taken a turn for the better and perhaps surprisingly to some people he's actually recorded four top-ten finishes from his last sixteen events.

As stated earlier 2011 wasn't a vintage year for Daniel yet he still managed 17th place in the Wyndham Championship without ever playing the course before. Now with that sighter under his belt and being in better form I'd expect Summerhays to go well this week at a huge price. bet365 currently offer 110/1 so I'll be playing each-way.


Kevin Streelman – Streelman finished 6th here in 2008 and 18th in 2010 so we know the course will hold no fears for the man from Illinois. This season's form could have been better, but there have been signs recently that may be about to change and it's interesting that over the last few years he's always finished the season off a lot better than he started it.

An eighth place finish behind Zach Johnson in the John Deere Classic a few weeks ago was very encouraging as it was a similar tournament to this with 20 under par winning it, with Streelman finishing at 14 under par. In the hope of another good finish to the season and knowing the course form box is ticked I'm going to play each-way at 125/1.

[brewster39]

This tourney has Webb Simpson and Jason Dufner as joint favs, with one of last weeks standout performers Carl Petterson coming next in the betting at around the 20/1 mark. I'm choosing 3 here, hopefully one can deliver the goods.



Bill HAAS 34.0

Bill Haas has always struck me as a bit of a sh!t or bust player, but when he gets it right he's a joy to watch. He's already struck gold this year with the Northern Trust Open, which takes him to four career wins. Was cut here last year, but finished 28th and 10th the years before that which represents better then reasonable course form. Current form he's doing better now, made the last four cuts, including a very respectable 281 inthe Open, going into the final round with a small hope as well. A solid all round golfer, who if he could find a bit more mental strength in the locker would be right up there. Given the field this week I think Haas is good value at 33s, and as already pointed out I don't think Dufner is a backable jolly so will take my chances on Haas as my first pick.

Nicolas COLSAERTS 41.0

Colsaerts has been one to follow for lots of punters in the last year or so - or maybe since his very good display to win the Volvo World Match play. 'The Belgian Bomber' is officialy the longest driver on the tour, hits it a whopping 316 (and consistently too). His approach play is impressive as well, but often finds himself using the risk and reward tactic, which can provide a variety of results. I think if he turns up and replicates his best form, maybe his Open 7th, he can provide a shake up for some of the bigger names here. Dabble.

Robert KARLSSON 111.0

Going to stick with Karlsson again this week. One of my favourite players on the tour, and suprised to find him yet again at such a large price. A player of Karlssons quality should have him chalked up at a 40/1 mark, and I know he'snot been playing his best golf as of late but I feel that 3 figures on such a strong player is worth another crack. Those who read my write up for the PGA last week will know that was Karlssons comeback event after he wanted some time off to improve his game. I personally think it's admirable to address your issues on the course and want to put them right before heading back out there with the big boys. Decent driver, and putter, with an okay game in the middle of that. Nice price here for RK.



My selections, backed e/w singles

Good luck all


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brewsty39

[erictheking66]

Brandt Snedker 33/1

Carl Petterson 20/1

Will post reasoing at some point later.

Good luck all.

[rockon]

hi all, bit rushed so short n sweet from me

SIMPSON 14-1.
good all round golfer, has excellent course form, made comeback last week after Lay off where he didnt make cut but had good solid 2nd round. hopefully cleared the cobwebs away n ready to go again. also a good strong starter which will help if this is going to be a putting contest.

PETTERSON 20-1
if last sundays play didnt take it out of him too much he could go close on this course. already won this year, another fast starter, excellent putter, 3rd in total putting, 11th in strokes gained and par 4 perf. good claims.

DUKE 85-1.
my outsider. again a good starter, strong putter, 17th strokes gained, 6 top 10 finishes so far.

will also do all 3 for 1 round leader.

good luck all

J

[harbinger10]

picks for the wyndham

1 jamie donaldson could creep into it this week as he has been improving in recent weeks and at 66/1 there is some value there ew

2 william mcgirt tied 2nd at the rbc canadian and has 2 top tens and also is 70th in the fedex also seems to have decent 4th rounds so if he gets off to a good start here fancy him to get in the top ten at around 80/1 ew

3 ryan moore comes into the equation here imo with 4 top tens this year and with 18 events played has made 15 cuts and par 4 birdie or better is 7th and is around 50/1 ew

an out sider for this i am going with heath slocum 100/1 ew just 2 top 25's but he will be out to make some ground in the fedex imo and may just sneek into a place
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[jimmywomble]

Hi all

The PGA Tour has the Wyndham Championship this week from the Sedgefield CC. The course has hosted this many times but most were in the distance past, so it will only be its current run that is relevant and that's since 2008. The winner last year was Webb Simpson, with Arjun Atwal, Ryan Moore & Carl Pettersson the other winners.

First thought is the defending champ Webb Simpson as he was also 8th in 2010, although did miss the cut on debut here in 09. Can't complain about his form either with a win at the US Open recently. Which he followed with a 29th, 7th and a missed cut last week at the USPGA.

Next thought is Brandt Snedeker who won the event in the last year at the old course, and at Sedgefield has mixed results here missing the cut badly last year and only 69th in 08, but they sandwich a 5th & 8th in between. Current form is ok as well with 3rd at the Open, although has dropped off a little since 34th, 50th & a missed cut as well at the USPGA.

The winner in 2008 was Carl Pettersson and he has been in good form this season with a 1st & 2nd either side of the Masters, and completed the medal set with 3rd last week at the USPGA. Solid in his 4 events before last week as well with between 17th & 36th place finishes. As well as his win he was 4th last year and the opposite to Sneds his good results sandwich a missed cut & 67th. Has shot as low as a 61 here when he won.

Final thought is a little bit of a hunch but he does have good course form his one visit here. In 2009 Sergio Garcia led the field by 3, alongside Chris Riley, going into the last round but an even par final round meant he missed the 3 way playoff by a shot. Current form is a little mixed with MC, 29th, MC, 29th, 38th. The missed cuts were at the last two majors, whilst the others were at the Bridgestone, BMW Intl & the US Open, so all big tournaments.

The problem with Simpson & Pettersson is their odds are quite skinny at 18-1 & 12-1, so not sure I fancy them. I think I will go with my hunch of Sergio Garcia as he was doing well here and may well have been affected by Riley in the final round who shot 4 over in the final round.

Cheers

Jimmy
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