IT'S not unknown for Englishmen to leave San Francisco feeling a little spooked. Back in the Summer of Love George Harrison was so freaked out by the trail of hippies gawping at him he fled the city at high speed, but he was soon back on track with his fellow Beatles, making the music which defined the 1960s.
Will Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose rebound from their Californian experiences in golf’s Summer of Silence? Casey’s performance might well have won another major were it not for the brilliance of Collin Morikawa, Fleetwood added to his growing expertise in the heat of major battle and Rose landed his 100th top ten on the PGA Tour.
It was promising form from the fab three who go again this week in the Wyndham Championship, but for selections I’m looking elsewhere.
Winner – Webb Simpson 11/1
There are golfers with fine course records, golfers with brilliant course records and then there is Webb Simpson at Sedgefield. In fact, the 35-year-old likes the track so much he and his wife named their daughter after the tournament. That said, little Wyndham’s dad was always likely to feel at home at the North Carolina layout because he was born in the state, went to college there and, indeed, still resides in Charlotte.
That familiarity has helped him compile a log book to be envied. He’s teed it up 11 times, made the cut every year since his debut, has eight finishes of T11th or better, six of them top sixes, there was a win in 2011 and he hasn’t been outside the top three in the last three years.
Confidence in his ability to land a second title comes from his excellent form on Bermuda greens in the last year or so which takes in wins at Harbour Town and TPC Scottsdale, top three finishes at TPC Southwind, here, Sea Island and Waialae, T20th at East Lake and T12th in this year’s visit to TPC Southwind.
It’s a small sample but it’s a mightily impressive one and his quality is further proved by the long term scoring averages because no-one in the field betters him over the last three years or 12 months. “I’ve always loved Sedgefield,” he said a few years ago and this week he can prove it again.
Wednesday exhibition. South Africans vs. Americans.@CA_Schwartzel and @BrandenGrace
vs.
Pat Perez and @JayKokrakThe 9-hole Wyndham Rewards Challenge will be worth $160,000 with all funds going to The First Tee of the Triad. pic.twitter.com/3HcRHASg7z
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 10, 2020
Each Way – Corey Conners 45/1
High quality approach play is key at Sedgefield. Last year’s winner J.T. Poston ended the week ranked first for Strokes Gained: Approach, the two winners before him (Brandt Snedeker and Henrik Stenson) were both third in the category whilst 2016 winner Si-Woo Kim was second.
The players back-up this notion during interviews, with Peter Uihlein saying “it’s very positional” and Ryan Moore noting that big hitters have no advantage. The greens are small so finding them tends to inevitably leave birdie opportunities and the Canadian Corey Conners ranks fifth in this week’s field for SG: Approach.
In two previous visits to the course he has been solid, finishing T45th in 2018 and T22nd last year, but no-one hit more greens in regulation than he did last year so he enjoys that part of the test. He tumbled out of the PGA Championship with a second round 76, but carded a nice 69 on Thursday and was a solid T30th at TPC Southwind a week earlier.
His PGA Tour career has also shown he has plenty of good form on Bermuda grass greens. He held a 54-hole lead at Innisbrook, was second at the same stage in the Dominican Republic, third at Waialae and a winner at San Antonio in the Texas Open. He was also second after 36 holes just two months ago at Harbour Town.
Each Way – Si-Woo Kim 45/1
A strong finish of T13th last week in San Francisco was nothing new in the post-lockdown period for the 25-year-old Korean Si-Woo Kim. In fact, it was his seventh cut made in a row, a run that has also included top 20 finishes at TPC River Highlands and Muirfield Village in the Memorial Tournament.
Now he returns to a course which he holds fond memories for him because he made his PGA Tour breakthrough at Sedgefield with victory in 2016 and he was also fifth there 12 months ago.
He rubber-stamped his quality by going on to claim the 2017 Players’ Championship at TPC Sawgrass and he is one of five players who have completed that course double, a link that is perhaps explained by the fact that both layouts require a neat tee-to-green game and the ability to putt on Bermuda grass greens.
The latter is a particular strength of Kim’s. He’s finished fourth at Waialae, third at El Camaleon, second at Harbour Town and fourth at San Antonio (when he led throughout most of the week). His long game was in fine fettle last week, ranking seventh for Greens in Regulation and 15th for SG: Approach.
