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ROUND RECAPS
Brandt Snedeker makes history at Wyndham
While nine entrants among the FedExCup’s top 30 seek part of the inaugural Wyndham Rewards Top 10 bonus, all but 10 from Nos. 85-185 are set to tee it up. That includes former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner (131st) and onetime FedExCup champion Bill Haas (137th).
FIELD NOTES: Neophyte pro Collin Morikawa and former U.S. Amateur champion Doc Redman, whose non-member FedExCup points would qualify them for the playoffs but can’t get in without a win, will give it a run at Sedgefield. … Jordan Spieth, currently on the bubble for the playoffs’ second event at the BMW Championship, will try to create a little cushion in Greensboro. … No.8 Paul Casey is the only entrant among the top 10 in FedExCup points; Lowry is highest in the world ranking at No.17. ... Joining Dufner on the list of former major winners urgently needing points are Martin Kaymer (149th), Zach Johnson (150th) and Jimmy Walker (152nd). … Viktor Hovland, who two months ago broke the U.S. Open’s scoring record for an amateur, will play on a sponsor invite. … The lineup also will include Steve Scott, the reigning Carolinas PGA champion who battled Tiger Woods in an epic 1996 U.S. Amateur final.
FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
STORYLINES: FedExCup playoff berths take the spotlight, as 13 players lurk within 50 points of the cutoff line. … Richy Werenski (124th), Patton Kizzire (125th) and Daniel Berger (126th) are the men currently on the bubble. … Barring a weekend surge from Rory McIlroy or Matt Kuchar in Memphis, Brooks Koepka has all but locked up the $2 million top prize in the Wyndham Rewards bonus pool. … In the 12 years since the FedExCup playoffs began, an average of 2.7 players have gained a last-chance playoff spot in Greensboro. Two did so last year; the most was five in 2015 while no one accomplished it in 2013. … Just four men have come to Greensboro at 140th or lower in the FedExCup standings and left with a playoff berth. Rory Sabbatini was the last to do it, rising from 148th to 122nd two years ago. … Snedeker was the eighth winner in the past 11 editions to close out a 54-hole lead.
COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club (Ross), 7,127 yards, par 70. The only Donald Ross original to serve as a regular PGA TOUR stop, Sedgefield was part of the Greater Greensboro Open’s start and now marks 12 years in its current host role. Built in 1925, the course features Ross’s signature small, undulating greens and is perennially ranked among the top 15 in North Carolina. Sedgefield was one of two locales when the GGO made its debut in 1938 and spent several years as an alternating site, before a 1961-76 run as host that included Sam Snead’s 1965 triumph – the last of his record 82 TOUR wins. Sedgefield also holds a place in college sports history as site of the 1953 meeting that founded the Atlantic Coast Conference.
For those visiting the Greensboro area, must-play courses include Mid Pines Inn and GC (Southern Pines, N.C.), Pine Needles Lodge & GC (Southern Pines, N.C.) and Forest Oaks CC (Greensboro, N.C.). Make your reservations through TeeOff.com.
72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Henrik Stenson (2017).
18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Brandt Snedeker (1st round, 2018).
LAST YEAR: Snedeker parlayed an opening 59 into his ninth PGA TOUR victory, though the result remained in doubt until the closing hole of a 29-hole final day. Snedeker and C.T. Pan stood tied at 20-under as Pan’s group reached the par-4 18th, where the Taiwan pro watched his tee shot travel out of bounds after hitting a cart path right of the fairway. He wound up with a double bogey, and Snedeker followed with a birdie in the final group for a three-shot margin of victory. Snedeker’s 5-under-par 65 left him at 21-under 259, going wire-to-wire after his opening 59 made him the 10th man in TOUR history to break 60. Webb Simpson matched his career best with a closing 62 to share second with Pan (66).
HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:15 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6:30 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday, 13:00 to 22:00. Sunday, 13:00 to 22:30.
RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday, 1-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
In the PGSF @Bill From Tampa keeps trucking along towards regular season championship with just 4 weeks left.
Good Luck to everyone this week
